Years
by EmilyAndTheDiamonds
Summary: Alex Vause was 4 years old when she first met Piper Chapman. AU
1. Prologue

**Ages 4 and 1 day**

Alex Vause was 4 years old when she first met Piper Chapman.

Alex's mum, Diane, worked as a maid/nanny for the Chapmans but due to being tight on money Diane often had to bring in her only child to work as she couldn't afford the expense of daycare.

Danny, the oldest of the Chapman children, was five years older than Alex so he would rather play with his older friends than Alex so she was often left alone whilst her mother worked. Not that she minded. Alex would make up stories to pass her time alone.

When Carol, or rather Diane as Mrs Chapman decided a day at the spa after such a strenuous day was calling her much more than looking after a crying newborn, brought the baby home Alex was apprehensive. _Didn't babies just cry? What if her mum liked this baby more than her? What if this baby didn't like her?_

What was in this little ball of blankets that her mum was so preoccupied with?

"Allie," the older Vause said with a smile as she sat down on the couch, balancing the bundle against her chest with one arm and patting the seat next to her so that Alex would sit "This is Piper."

Alex peered into the blankets and saw a very red looking baby with white blonde hair. She wasn't exactly sure what to make of 'Piper' so instead of reacting she looked up at her mother with curiosity evident in her grey-green eyes.

"She was only born yesterday, but when you're older I'm sure you'll be good friends" Diane assured her daughter. She couldn't understand how either of her employers weren't cooing over their new addition and would rather work or relax. This child in her arms she knew would probably end up relying on her a lot if she kept this job as she had such absent parents. But Diane loved her Alex to pieces so surely she could love this child too, even if she weren't hers.

"So then kid, you gonna hold her?" The look of terror that passed over Alex's small features made Diane chuckle. "Come on, I'll show you how."

With that, Diane told Alex to sit back and showed her how to support little Piper Chapman's head as she held her. "What if I drop her, mummy? Will Miss Chapman be angry?"

The elder ruffled her daughter's hair at her concern "You won't love."

Just then the baby stirred in Alex's arms "Mum! She's opened her eyes" Alex squeaked in panic.

"She's just having a look at who's holding her."

Alex observed Piper's eyes as the younger seemed quite content with who was holding her, rather than crying as Alex thought she would have. The infant's bright blue eyes were unfocused on the face above her as the younger Vause decided this baby wasn't so bad. She wasn't crying, and she seemed to like her. Yes, Alex decided, she did like Piper, and they would be friends when they were older. She would make sure of it.

Just as Alex made this decision, Piper's face scrunched up, and she made a loud noise that sounded a lot like the ones her aunt's puppy once made when she stepped on his tail. "Mum!" Alex looked up terrified.

"Don't worry kid. She'll probably want her bottle" and with that, her mother patted Alex's head before scooping up the crying infant and heading towards the kitchen.

Even though Piper scared her Alex was fairly sure she missed her already.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this story, but it's been bugging me for ages so I started it. Please review and leave suggestions to where I take this story. Thanks for reading! -E**


	2. Chapter 1

**Ages 8 and 4**

For a long time, Alex found Piper boring. Her mum promised her that they'd be friends when they were older but whenever her and Nicky tried playing with her she'd usually just crawl away or cry.

Once Piper could talk though it wasn't as bad. The fact that 3-year-old Piper could have a full blown argument with 7-year-old Nicky Nichols amused her no end.

Today was Pipers fourth birthday and Mrs Chapman had insisted to Diane that Alex would attend, and much to the laters horror, it involved getting dressed up. Diane had been saving all month and working extra shifts in the morning at the diner so she could afford a new dress for Alex.

The 8 year old would much rather go in jeans and a t-shirt than the frilly yellow dress her mother got her, but apparently Piper had insisted to her mother that she wanted Alex there so she'd just have to suck it up and wear the dress. As Alex had spent so much time at the Chapman's growing up Piper felt like a little sister to her. Even when she couldn't talk Alex loved her even though she was a scared baby that occasionally cried for no reason because her mum loved her so much. Since Piper Mr and Mrs Chapman had another baby, Cal, but Alex was never as close to him. The 2 year old was quite strange in the eyes of the youngest Vause, but she thought that might just be due to how much older she was than him. She never noticed anything too weird about Piper when she was younger other than the fact she didn't like cooked yolks. _Seriously though, who doesn't like egg yolks?_

The young redhead stared into the mirror. She was deciding if she hated how the bright red of her hair clashed with the bright yellow of the dress too much. She'd never really liked her hair colour, but her mum had told Alex repeatedly that she could dye her hair whatever colour she wanted once she was 16. After smoothing out the wrinkles in the dress and giving her self a final once over, just to make sure nothing had changed too much in her appearance whilst she moved. She grabbed her glasses from the nightstand and positioned them on her head before stepping over the piles of books and dirty clothes to go downstairs where her mother was waiting for her.

"Al! You look gorgeous" Diane beamed as her daughter came down the stairs.

Alex just scrunched up her nose and shrugged, clearly not buying it. Diane quickly shoved the hastily wrapped pink polka dot wrapped present into Alex's hands before heading out the door and towards the stairs away from their flat.

Once in their vista cruiser parked outside Diane started towards the Chapman's once more. She was leaving Alex so she could fit in another shift at the diner so it would be Alex's first time alone there. Not that see really be alone; Piper followed her around like a lost puppy. And if it really came to it Alex was friends with one of the neighbour's kids, Nicky Nichols, and her parents were never home so she could go there if she were really uncomfortable.

The car pulled up at the drive of the grand house of the Chapman's, complete with pink balloons and very quite pop music. "Alex," the girl in question looked over to her mother "no funny business, okay? If you get me fired you're getting a job. Be good kid and make sure you eat as much cake as you can" She said with a smile before pulling her daughter in for a hug.

"I will Mum," Alex said climbing out of the car "Love you, bye!. She waved off her mother as she sped off to her next job.

Alex looked up at the large house of the Chapman's. It was never this scared with her mum, she thought as she started up the drive towards the front drive.

She knocked on the door, hoping it wasn't Mrs Chapman who would open the door. The woman clearly thought that Alex shouldn't be around her daughter and made it clear to her that they were from different worlds. Luckily, the door opened to reveal Celeste Chapman offering her a warm smile. The woman was only a small bit taller than Alex despite the former having a good 50 years on Alex. "Dear, come in. You're Alex aren't you? Pippi has not shut up about you, she'll be so excited you're here love" the older woman continued, walking off in to the back garden to find the birthday girl.

Alex followed Pipers grandmother as she tried to avoid the rest of her WASPy family. Outside the young redhead was met by several young children and a few that were blonde and blue eyed which she presumed where Pipers cousins. There was a bouncy castle and a table of food outside. Looking around she noticed it was mainly adults drinking, not kids having fun. This confused Alex but she didn't have much time to ponder on it as she was nearly knocked off her feet abruptly as a small weight launched herself at her.

"Alex! You came!" Beamed a very happy Piper.

Alex smiled down at her "Of course I did, I wouldn't miss my favourite four year olds birthday, would I?"

With that the smaller girl grabbed Alex's hand and started tugging her in the direction of the bouncy castle. There were already a few kids on it so Alex was apprehensive. _What if she crushed them?_ She knew one of the girls was Piper's "second bestest friend", her being the first of course, called Molly or Polly or something along those lines. Another girl she didn't know and the third was a little boy she was fairly certain lived next door.

"Wait, Pipes, what about your present?" Alex asked, knowing her mum spent at least £15 on this present that she didn't have to waste. She handed the present over to the small blonde girl.

Wearing the biggest smile Piper eagerly opened it. She looked a little confused once she saw the present but smiled anyway "I love it!" Piper declared picking it up and discarding the wrapping paper "... What is it?" She then asked, looking up at Alex.

The older girl laughed, she was too nice for her own good this kid was. "It's a dinosaur, Piper. Look, it bites people too!" Alex took the toy t-rex and squeezed one arm so it opened and closed its mouth once before making it bite on one Piper's blonde ringlets, which made the young girl burst in to laughter before taking back the toy and making it bite a few more times. "Thank you Alex!" She said before running up on to the bouncy castle and biting the kids on there with the toy.

Alex's mum wasn't sure about the present, but really, what do you get a four year old who has everything? Alex finally decided on the T-Rex. She'd only picked it really because her cousins name was Thomas Rex, so everyone in her family called him T Rex and since he was born 6 months ago Alex found T-Rex's hysterical.

As the day wore on Piper refused Alex of her freedom and wouldn't leave her side, even waiting outside the bathroom for her and making her stay in photos with her family.

* * *

Once it was finally time to sing happy birthday and cut the cake people started departing. Within an hour Alex was the only one left besides the Chapman's as it was only 7:45 and her mums shift didn't even finish until 8:00. Mr Chapman let Alex go upstairs and play with Piper after an interrogation lead by Piper and her T-Rex.

"Al, do you want to have a sleepover?" Piper asked once the pair were sat on her light pink bedsheets dotted with stars.

"I don't know if I'd be allowed" Alex answered honestly. She'd never slept over at anyone's house before besides at her aunts.

"Come on, I'll go ask" and with that Piper ran down the stairs.

Alex knew no good could come of this. Mrs Chapman already didn't like her because she was poor, but simply tolerated her because her mother did a good job cleaning and raising her kids for her. Alex leant over to put her head against the wall to try and listen to the verdict of a sleepover. She didn't hear much other than "someone like her", "too old" and "bad influence" before Piper ran back in to the room bawling her eyes out.

"My mummy's mean! She doesn't want me to be friends with you even though you're my bestest friend! She doesn't understand" Piper sulked.

Although Alex didn't know what to do in these situations she patted her knee and said "Come here". Piper did as she was told and sat on Alex's knee, curling up into the eight year old and crying her little heart out. "Hey, if it makes you feel better when you're a bit older I'll ask my mum if you can stop over at my flat one day. You'd like that right?" Piper merely gave her a watery eyed nod "You can finally meet Mr Bonkers too, he's a very nice cat. I'm sure he'll love you"

"Alex" Piper wiped her eyes and sniffed "When I'm older can I marry you?" Alex laughed at the small child on her lap "You're supposed to marry your best friend and you're my bestest friend so I want to marry you"

"We'll see, eh kid?" Alex smiled at the little girls logic and was thankful that she'd stopped crying. She hated it when she cried.

Just then there was a honk outside, indicating that Alex's mum was outside to pick her up. "See you later then, Pipes"

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Thank you so much for the feedback on this story! I really wasn't expecting such a response. I would just like to add I have a bit more of a clearer direction for this story but it's still fuzzy so feel free to review and give suggestions. Also I'm going on holiday today and the Internet is a thing not heard of in the English countryside so I won't be able to update for a few days. Also due to me starting school again soon updates may be slightly slow but I'll try to update most weekends, and maybe I'll surprise you midweek too! Who knows? Please review and thank you for reading and your continued support!**

 **(Ps. I actually do have a baby cousin called T Rex and I just thought I could work it in there) - E**


	3. Chapter 2

**Ages 10 and 6**

If she was quite honest with herself, Alex was fed up with school. She didn't understand maths, she wasn't allowed read what she wanted in English and the computers in IT made her eyes hurt. And to top it all off her only real friend in her year was bunking off school today to go to Spain with her mother and her new boyfriend, _Rodrigo_ she thought Nicky had said this time.

Having lost her job at the diner recently due to its closing, the Vause household was extremely tight on money; Diane was out job hunting again meaning that Alex would be alone again after school. But due to this lack in money Alex still had yet to get a new coat, even though the current one she had on looked almost as it had three quarter length sleeves, and she couldn't afford school dinners anymore either so she was saddled with a water bottle filled with dilute pop and a cheese spread sandwich for lunch whilst everyone else had cooked meals or more substantial packed lunches, complete with sweets, fruit and crisps. She couldn't fault her mother though, it wasn't like she wasn't trying. But the lack of money was really showing.

And to top it off Alex didn't have anyone to sit with either. _Great_ she thought as she went over to the furthest away table from the entrance to the cafeteria and plopped herself down.

She unpacked her ziplock sandwich bag and bottle from her backpack and dumped them unceremoniously on to the table before taking off her coat. It was way too tight around the girl's broad shoulders when she leant over.

"Hey! Pig Sty!" God Alex couldn't wait until she started at high school. At least she could get away from the little Park Slope narcissists, even though by then they'd be big Park Slope narcissists. Deciding on ignoring them Alex went back to her sandwich, unwrapping it as the shorter girl - who gave her such a kind name as 'Pig Sty' - came over and sat with Alex, all the while smiling cockily. "So, Pig Sty, what you got there? Butter sandwich?" Jessica Wedge's minions laughed at her joke without any consideration for Alex. _Lunch was going to drag today._

"Hey Pipe, look it's Jessica!" Polly excitedly pointed out as they neared the front of the food queue. Polly idolised Jessica Wedge due to her parent's money and her designer clothes.

Piper, being honestly more interested in what was for lunch than the schools gossip, ignored the friend and grabbed a tray to be served. "Well she does go to the same school as us, you'd think we'd see her every so often"

"But look! She's with someone." The brunette pointed out "We should totally go join in"

Piper finally looked over to Jessica. She really didn't understand why she was popular. What were money and designer jeans and not one but two Chihuahuas when you're just plain mean? It didn't make sense to the blonde. Over Jessica's trio of followers Piper tried to see who their latest victim was but she couldn't tell.

Piper and Polly headed towards the girls in a somewhat desperate attempt to fit in when the former suddenly recognised who was facing the infamous Wrath of Wedge. "Alex!" The young blonde suddenly called out, causing the girl in question along with Wedge and Co. to look up at her. _Right, this was bad._ She didn't have a plan past this point. _Think, quickly!_ "Come sit with us, we've been looking for you" _That was good Chapman_ Piper mentally congratulated herself before going over to a stunned Alex and taking her hand, effectively leading her away from her bullies and towards her and Polly's usual table, and grabbing the rest of the older girls lunch in the other hand.

On her way past Polly she quickly said "Go sit with Daya or someone, I know you don't like Al" and Polly smiled in thanks before heading off to find someone else to sit with.

Alex and Piper sat down on opposite facing seats on the four person table "Thanks kid..." Alex mumbled, not sure what to say to the younger girl.

Piper beamed at this, happy to help. "It's fine" She passed a quick glance over to where Wedge and Co. were previously seated and it appeared they'd moved. She knew Polly would have her head for that stunt but she didn't really care. She couldn't let them be mean to Alex "They didn't like me anyway"

"My little hero" Alex laughed, leaning over to ruffle the blonde's hair. Piper blushed at this, very proud that she'd helped out her friend.

After this Alex set back to eating her rather meagre meal. Piper looked down to her own tray. She had a portion of what looked like mince and gravy as well as carrots and curly fries. "Want to share?" She offered.

"It's fine" Alex quickly replied. She was grateful for the offer but she didn't want Piper's charity.

"Come on, I always steal your chips when you're having dinner when your mums working, it's only fair"

Alex didn't have time to respond before her stomach let out a loud rumble, causing both girls to burst out laughing. "Okay then" She agreed.

She ended up deconstructing her sandwich so she could have a slightly more filling cheese spread and curly fry sandwich. Alex knew her mum would complain how she'd get spots so she ended up making Piper swear to secrecy. "I'll set my cat on you if you tell, that's a promise"

Piper raised her hand in surrender, laughing still "I swear"

"Good" The redhead replied with a smirk before taking another bite of her, much improved, sandwich.

* * *

With only 5 minutes of break left the pair left the cafeteria area to head to their respective classes. Heading down the hallway the pair were discussing where the best ice cream place in New York was. "It's definitely my cousin's place, it's in Queens near our flat and it's honestly the best thing ever. And he gives me them free! But mainly because my mum threatened to tell something he did that was really bad when he was younger to his mum but still! It's free ice cream"

"I wish I could go" Piper moaned.

"We can. We could go after school. It's only just below the flat" Alex suggested. She really hoped she could, the redhead loved any excuse for ice cream and she'd love even more to show Piper the ice cream parlour.

"My mum would never let me"

"Polly has a phone, right? Tell her to text your mum and say you're stopping over at hers" Alex knew this was pushing it but it wasn't like it was dangerous.

"Okay."

"My mum gets off at half past 4 on Fridays so she can drop you off after"

 _2:58_. Piper had been counting down the seconds until she could go out of class and to Alex. She'd never been out with her outside of class or her house so she was really looking forward to it. _2:59_. She knew she'd be in _so_ much trouble if her mum found out she as with Alex but she loved her, she was her best friend. She couldn't wait. She was really grateful Polly had done as she'd asked without much questioning as she might get into trouble as well as her and Alex if they were caught. _3:00._ The bell rang, and Piper was the first one out.

Piper met Alex just outside the school bus and they both got on together.

"So, what you going to get?" Alex asked about 10 minutes into the drive.

"I dunno. What do they do?" The blonde shrugged.

" _Everything_ " Alex said with a smile, exaggerating with her hands. "This one time my mum asked him to make one with a pork chop and he actually did. Seasoning and all"

"That's so cool"

A few minutes later Alex indicated this was their stop and the pair climbed off of the bus and out onto the pavement. Piper had never been to this part of New York before and it was scary. Instantly she reached out for Alex's hand. "It's okay Pipes" The elder of the two announced, gripping her hand back and tugging them along towards the ice cream place.

The parlour was empty bar a couple of teenagers towards the left. Alex led them towards the front desk and ducked underneath the fold away bar restricting customers from getting behind the desk. After successfully avoiding the teenager reading some magazine at the till they made it into the back room.

"Matt?" Alex called out in hopes of getting her cousin's attention.

"Hello?" A man's voice called out, coming down the stairs "Oh, Al!" He smiled at his youngest cousin "I've not seen you in ages" he said pulling her in for a hug.

"Matt... Stop you're crushing me" Alex moaned with a smile.

"Oh you've brought a date have you Allie? Well what will I be getting you two lovely ladies today?"

"What do you want Pipes?" Alex quietly asked Piper who has still holding Alex's hand but was hiding somewhat behind the taller girl.

"Whatever you're getting" She muttered quietly into Alex's back, clearly not sure of herself.

"Two pretzel and caramel ice creams then please" Alex announced with a smile to her favourite cousin.

"Girl you're going to put me out of business"

Within minutes the pair had sat down and been served with dipped waffle cones containing caramel ice cream with pretzel bits throughout it.

"Al, this is great! Definitely the best ice cream I've ever had" Piper claimed.

"I told you" The redhead smirked before continuing to lick her ice cream.

By the time the pair had finished it was 4:23 according to the digital clock behind the counter. Piper had almost all her face covered in ice cream so Alex ended up having to wipe her clean with napkins, much to the formers displeasure and the laters amusement.

"That was fun" Declared the blonde as they were heading out again up towards Alex's flat so that they could wait for Diane to arrive home to drop Piper off home. "We should go out more. Here's much more fun than my house"

"Well I'm allowed there and you're not allowed here so tough luck kid" Alex laughed.

Once they arrived outside Alex's flats door they waited. Alex was supposed to be stopping with a neighbour until her mum got back anyway but the old woman was an alcoholic and rarely recognised who her own children were on the best of days she was always so blind drunk, never mind someone else's kid.

"Mum! Hi!" Alex beamed as the woman the pair had been waiting for showed up.

"Hey, Ale- Fuck! Piper why are you here? I mean, hello love. But really how come you're here? Your mother'll rip me a new one if she-"

"Mum, Piper just came for ice cream. Could you give her a lift home please?" Alex asked with her best puppy dog eyes.

"Al..." Her mother said warningly.

"Please. We were good and we were safe"

"Fine, Al. But once I get back you're telling me exactly how you got Mrs Chapman to let Piper out with you, and if you get me fired I'll throttle you I swear..." The older Vause trailed off before unlocking the flats door and taking Pipers hand "Come on then love"

"Wait" Before Alex had time to react she had the blondes skinny arms wrapped around her middle in a vice-like hug "Thanks for ice cream" She mumbled into the older girls shirt, looking up at her afterwards from her perch around her waist.

"Thanks for saving me from Jessica, kid" Alex smiled patting Piper's back.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

 **Sorry for the update which resulted in code being uploaded, I have no idea why that happened. Anyway, I am still blown away by the response to this story, and I hope it continues. Plese review and thanks for reading - E**

 **(PS. I don't own OitNB so don't** **sue me)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Ages 12 and 8**

Piper had been looking forward to finally getting to see Alex again. Since she had started high school the blonde rarely got to see the older girl and since Alex was deemed old enough to stay home alone she often did whilst Diane worked because her mother found it unnecessary for Alex to be there.

But today was different. Alex had invited Piper over to Nicky's recently and because Nicky was from money and lived nearby age was suddenly no problem for Mrs Chapman and encouraged her to go to the 11-year-olds house and it was there that Piper had learnt Diane was seeing someone Alex really didn't like. George Mandez or Pornstache as Nicky and Alex referred to him as, not that Piper understood what "pornstache" meant, was apparently very kind to Diane which Alex was over the moon about but he didn't particularly like kids, "copped a feel" of Alex's beloved mother too often to be considered normal, again what Piper didn't really know what it meant but she knew it was bad, and often was rough when he was around her - like instead of guiding her into cars like a regular fatherly figure would he seemed to simply push her harshly. But Alex didn't tell her mum any of her concerns, even if she was her best friend, because he made her so happy with dates and flowers and affection. Due to Alex's extreme disdain for Diane boyfriend, she had been allowed to stop at the Chapman's whilst Diane worked and cared for Cal. Because even if Alex didn't say anything, Diane knew something wrong with her little girl.

This, however, did not improve the day much for Alex. To begin with, she got her first period and that alone assured the rest of her day - and debatably her life in her opinion - to be a disaster. Then at lunch some stupid little religious girl with greasy blonde hair called her a dyke and snapped her glasses in half, rendering the young redhead near blind with her incredibly poor eyesight. Then her stupid maths teacher threw a 6-page homework sheet at her as she was leaving the class insisting it wasn't actually targeted torture but a means of _"helping her progress in maths"_ but in was due in by the next lesson. And once she entered the grand Chapman household, despite how much she loved Piper and she made her feel welcome, Mrs Chapman's icy glare was persistent which confused Alex no end. She was always polite to the woman but she always had treated her as though she was less than any other child.

The youngest Vause was ushered into the Chapman children's playroom/study by Mrs Chapman before she was left on her own. Looking around the large and empty room and deciding it was definitely empty and sat down against the far side of the wall, remembering how one time she sat at Danny's desk over in the corner and Mr Chapman went ballistic.

Alex pulled out her maths homework, figuring she may as well start it if she didn't want another detention. But as she did one-half of her glasses fell out alone with it. She held it up against her left eye and closed her right to see the other side of the room and found that the room had actually changed quite a bit since she had last been in here. Gone were all of the bright pink plastic toys - and one vibrant green dinosaur that stuck out like a sore thumb - and instead there was the odd toy truck but mainly the vast shelves were lined with various books. Some, like _Advanced Biology: Module 3_ , Alex could only guess were the belongings of Danny Chapman but some others, like _George's Marvellous Medicine_ and a very old looking copy of _Charlottes Web_ , she assumed belonged to Piper no offence to Calvin but he didn't really seem one to be interested in books. To be completely honest she was impressed with her Pipes. She loved reading too, maybe more towards classical literature rather than kids stuff but she could introduce Piper to that when she was older.

Alex put the half of her glasses down on the floor before going back into her backpack to pull out a pencil and the other remaining half of her glasses. The redhead leant back against the wall and made sure her papers were less that half a metre away from her face so she could actually read what she was writing clearly. _Right, "Find the value of X and Y when 2x-3y=5 and x+y=5." Right, so 2x+2y=10? And if you minus that from the first one you get -5y=-10. So y=1? Or -1? No definitivly 1. 5-1=x=4! X= 4 and Y=1! Okay, this wasn't too bad Alex decided._ "Question 1 of 80" She then realised aloud and let out and audible groan. She couldn't even see the text without her glasses! That stupid Jesus minion had decidedly made her life hell and Alex felt like crying. Crying or punching something - she wasn't sure which.

* * *

Just over an hour later and 58 questions in Alex heard someone outside the door of the study room. She looked up but with her poor eyesight she could only make out vague blurry shapes. The call of her name in a high pitched, excited voice confirmed her suspicions that Piper was the culprit for the noise."Hey Pipes, " Alex said a little worn out.

"Alex, why aren't you wearing you wearing your glasses? Aren't you blind without them? What are you doing? Why didn't you tell me you were here? I wanted to show yo-" The young blonde reeled off almost too fast to fully understand.

"Piper breathe!" Alex groaned, rubbing her temples. She already had a migraine coming on from not wearing her glasses and the shorter girl running her mouth a mile a minute wasn't helping.

Having never been shouted at by Alex before Piper was silenced immediately "Sorry" She squeaked, looking downwards but not really understanding why the older girl was mad at her.

"No, I'm sorry Pipes. But Christ you can talk" Alex offered with a small smile, feeling a little guilty for taking out her stress on Piper. "I'm not wearing my glasses because someone broke them"

"Why?" Piper asked, genuinely confused as to why anyone would break Alex's things. She knew she was bullied still but breaking her glasses was horrible!

Alex shrugged before going back to her papers. She didn't really want to go into the real reasons why.

"I'll fix them!" Piper sat next to the older girl giving her a toothy smile - well minus one bottom baby tooth that had finally fallen out earlier that week.

"You can try but I don't think you can" Alex said glumly, grabbing her broken glasses and handing them to the blonde, who in return jumped up and sped off out of the room.

After assessing the damage to the two very separate sections of Alex's glasses Piper headed towards the kitchen to find something to stick them together.

Upon her arrival in the gleaming white and silver room, the young blonde found her second favourite Vause. "Diane!" She ran over and hugged the woman as she was cleaning the stovetops.

"Oof, hey kid" Diane smiled, patting Piper's head. Piper was tall for her age and definitely gaining on Diane herself, although Alex was still a ridiculous amount taller than Piper and already had a good inch on her own 5'5" stature.

"Diane... Does Alex still like me?" Piper asked while realising the older woman.

"What? What's she said to you? Of course, she does. I'll slap her into next week if she upset-"

"No. No, she not said anything. She just seemed mad at me" The blonde said fiddling with the pieces of the girl in question's glasses.

"You'll understand more when you're older love. Try to buy her love back with sweets, that'll work" Diane said with a laugh as she continued to work on the stovetop.

"Okay. Thank you!"

Piper was on a mission now as she riffled through the kitchen drawers. So far she had only found superglue but despite keeping the glasses together the ridge was now sharp and hurt Piper's nose when she put them on for a test drive.

"Aha!" She exclaimed as she found what she was looking for. Although not the most glamorous, Piper knew that the masking tape would help keep the glasses together until Diane could get Alex some new ones as well as make them more comfortable to wear. Quickly she wrapped the centre of the glasses a couple of times before ripping the tape.

Piper then made her way over to the double fridge freezer to try and sneak some sweets for Alex. She knew if her mother found out she'd get on at her about how she should "start watching her weight" because she was "almost done growing now" but if Diane had said it'd help Alex be less mad at her, even if it wasn't exactly her fault she was mad, Piper was all for it. After rifling through the fridge she stole two cans of Cherry Coke which she knew were definitely Danny's and a chocolate bar which she presumed her mother had gotten for Cal seen as she had been told she couldn't have sweets more than twice a week now.

Piper placed her glasses atop her head as Alex so often did when she was talking to someone close by and shoved the cans of pop in her jean pockets and the chocolate bar in the waistband of her jeans and under her top before practically sprinting back to the study.

Making sure the door was shut and grinning widely, Piper pulled out her stolen goods and placed them in front of Alex before passing her her glasses too.

"Thanks, Pipes" Alex laughed placing them on the bridge of her nose, the wonkiness of them causing Piper to laugh. Alex made a laugh before laughing herself again, just thankful she could see clear again.

Piper too sat herself down in beside Alex's perch and threw a can at her. "Your mum said it'd make you feel better" She explained, cracking open her own soda can. Piper judged her reaction, laughing when she saw Alex somehow turn at least a few shades paler, then look like she was about to cry or unleash hell on somebody "Don't worry, she didn't tell me why" The blonde said in near hysterics now, almost spilling her drink.

"Shut up" The older girl muttered with a slight smirk, pushing away Piper playfully from where she sat. She definitely would've been having words with her mother if she would have told Piper. No self-respecting 8 year old wants to know about periods.

After finishing both the maths homework and the chocolate bar the pair laid back against the hardwood floor. Piper was the first to turn over. Now on her side, she took in the view of her still-best friend. The crooked taped glasses on her perfectly straight nose. Decidedly bored, the blonde poked the other girl's shoulder "Al..." The girl in question pretended to ignore her, failing to suppress a small smile and looking the other way. In retaliation, Piper plucked the redheads glasses from her face and wore them herself. "I'm Alex Vause," the smaller blonde mimicked in the deepest voice she could manage, knowing full well that Nicky always laughed at Alex for 'sounding like a boy', and sat up stretching her back to look taller. Alex leant up on her elbows to watch the little show "and I'm too good for kids not in high school now." The blonde continued with a smile, then moving to sit on the older girls stomach, effectively pinning her down. Piper then continued in her normal pitch "Even the really nice ones who steal food for her and keep her company whilst she's sulking" She punctuated by tickling the girl's sides.

"Pipes! Pi- Stop!" Alex managed to get out between thrashing around and laughing. When the blonde did stop for a second the 12-year-old took her chance to attack and flipped them over so she was now straddling the smaller girl while pinning her attacker's hands above her head. Piper looked up at her laughing, trying to wriggle away but her slight frame was no match for Alex

"No escaping until you say sorry" Announced Alex after Piper wiggled for a few more minutes.

"Alex," The blonde drew out in complaint "please?"

"Bambi act isn't working here, Princess. Sorry or you'll be here forever" Alex said, collect both of Piper's boney wrists in one hand and moving her other to her ribs.

"No, Al don't!" Piper was _much_ more ticklish than Alex and she knew she'd end up an uncontrollable mess within minutes "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" The blonde practically squealed once the attack started.

"I knew you'd cave" The older stated as she withdrew herself, a smug look on her face.

The pair sat,slightly out of breathing, nxt to each other when Alex again broke the silence "Would it make it up to you if I asked if you could stop at my house?"

"Really?" Piper looked over confused. Alex usually did not like people going to her flat and Piper had yet to actually stop over; despite knowing the girl all her life.

"Yeah" The redhead mumbled, her confidence slipping somewhat.

The blonde beamed from ear to ear and lept at Alex, nearly knocking her to the floor again, as she engulfed her in a bear hug for even having to ask if she wanted to. Alex hugged her back, gauging her reaction as a yes. Opening her eyes Piper looked, or rather tried to look to the other side of the room. "Christ, Al, you're blind!"

* * *

After a fair amount of bribing on Alex's part and a lot of sucking up on Piper's, Mr Chapman finally agreed to let his daughter stop out overnight, earning him too a tight hug.

After backing her backpack with her pyjamas, toothbrush, teddy bear, £3.64 in coins and all other basic necessities, Piper was sat waiting with Alex on the sofa for the eldest Vause to finish washing down the wall that Cal had managed to repaint with tomato ketchup.

A short time after the comfortable silence and occasional shoulder bumping between the two girls was broken by Diane walking over "Right then girls, are we breaking out of this joint?"

Piper snickered while Alex rolled her eyes. "Sure, mum" The redhead said standing up. Piper then followed suit and trailed after the Vause's towards the beat up, wood cad, car parked in the Chapman's driveway.

A good half an hour later, ram packed with a hyper Piper talking virtually non-stop, the elder Vause had parked outside Queens and, after the kids had raced each other up the staircase as the lift had broken down again, was ushering the pair inside.

Piper honestly wasn't sure why Alex was always so afraid of letting people into her home, even Nicky being one of Alex's closest friends had never ventured to where the blonde now stood. Sure, the living room was a little cramped and the sofa looked like it had seen better days but it was clean and tidy. And had a television which she wasn't allowed to watch at home.

"Come on, I'll give you a tour" Alex grabbed Piper's hand mid-ponder and dragged her through the various rooms and showing her how to correctly kick the bathroom door when it got stuck.

The be tour ended in Alex's bedroom where Piper deposited her backpack. The room just fit Alex's single bed in, which had a green and blue striped duvet and a mismatched dark blue pillow, and the walls were painted a light violet. One wall was almost completely covered in posters and photographs. Among the photos, there were many of Alex and Diane and a few with others she recognised as relatives, the odd photo with Nicky climbing trees and such, and a couple with herself in. One she recognised must have been from her fourth birthday. In the available space, there were posters of bands and TV shows Piper didn't know of, and a tattered looking _Death Maiden_ one, creased at the edges and worn away a little where it had been folded. It was dated _February 1989. That's odd, it's older_ than Alex thought Piper.  
Alex must've caught on with what Piper was staring at when she clarified "It's my dads band" Piper had never really given much thought to Alex's dad, although she knew she must've had one "My mum met him at that concert, I've never met him though" Alex looked down a little, in fear that she'd be judged.

"Well I've met my dad and I sometimes wish I hadn't" The blonde said with a smile. Alex giggled before dragging the younger girl back out into the living room.

"We're watching films that we aren't old enough to watch tonight and having microwaved popcorn for dinner" Announced the redhead, fixing her crooked broken glasses with a smile.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I swear one day I'll update without mistakes the first time. Thanks to the guest reviewer who pointed it out! Can you tell I know naff all about American schools? Because I can. I'm also not too sure how kids work in the growing aspects because when I myself was 8 I was 5'4", when I was 12 I was 5'6" and now I'm 5'7" so yeah. Also I made this a little longer and earlier because I'm starting sixth form tomorrow so updates may be a little late.**

 **Ihope you like the direction of this story and although it's been mainly fluff thus far I plan to make things a little more angsty as things progress. And as for Alex's age, I've planned to make when they meet in the show, when Piper is 22 and so Alex is 26, set in 2016 and it worked out so that Alex's birthday was in 1989 and Pipers was the 7th June 1994 so towards the end of this story will be set in the future.**

 **Please feel free to leave a review or give your input on how this story should go forth and thank you for reading! - E**


	5. Chapter 4

**Ages 15 and 11**

Just short of Piper's 9th birthday her older brother, Danny, had left without an explanation and the Chapman household hadn't been the same since.

Mr and Mrs Chapman had no idea where their 17-year-old son was or how he was other than the knowledge that he wasn't coming back, as discovered through a singular phonecall. Image being the most important thing for the Chapmans though, everyone else in the neighbourhood had been told _Doctor Danny_ had gone off to university early. But home life had started to fall apart.

Where Piper once had strict rules of being in the house _"before 5 pm, not 5 minutes after"_ and never to stray too far into the _"shoddy end of town"_ , by the age of 10 she could do almost as she pleased, with her father often out for work and her mother spending every waking hour maintaining their image and drinking gin.

Diane had been almost completely raising three children since then. But with her own child's tendency to rebel at school, Piper being completely devoted to spending every available minute with Alex and Calvin's fondness of fire it hadn't been easy.

But Diane didn't mind too much, the pay was decent and the remaining Chapman children doted her for caring so much about them, but as soon as Cal turned 10 her contract was up and she was genuinely concerned for the welfare of the kids. She just hoped at least one of their parents pulled themselves together.

Upon finding out that her mother's contract was ending soon, Alex wanted to help out by getting a job too so she had an interview that afternoon for a job at a diner.

Which left the youngest Vause in the current predicament she was in now.

Staring at herself in the mirror she was horrified. _It said blonde!_ She screamed internally eyeing the box with a perfectly blonde model up to her own reflection in the mirror. She was met by her usual reflection, for the most part, green-grey eyes framed by black rimmed glasses and pale skin... But with pale pink hair! _God, Mum's gonna kill me_ she thought, watching as her reflection touched the once red hair. She'd told that girl she'd go out with her after her interview too!

Alex looked around for her phone and thankfully found it on the side of the bathtub. The Nokia 8210 was by no means glamorous and was considered a little old now but she was over the moon when her mum brought it home for her after a particularly good night of tips at her diner shortly after she had ditched Pornstache.

She dialled the only person she had on her contacts that weren't going to make her life hell, like Nicky would, or tell her mum, like her aunt.

"Piper?" Alex stared into the mirror looking absolutely terrified still.

"Al! Hey, I've not spoken to you in ages" The phones speaker said against her ear.

"Hey... Listen... Don't question it but I need you buy hair dye." Not wanting to risk another unfortunate shade or her hair falling out she added "Get the darkest you can find"

Less than 20 minutes later there was a knock at the apartment. As a precaution, just in case Diane decided to come home early, Alex had tied her long hair up in a topknot and had a baseball cap over that.

Opening the door Piper made her way inside straight away "So, who's hair you planning on dying? It must've been serious if you can't go get it"

"Mine..." The taller girl answered after a few seconds

"What? Why black? And why'd you make me get it? You know I had to convince the woman at the shop I was buying it for my mum and-" Piper spouted out before being stopped abruptly.

"Piper, I need you to promise me you will not tell a soul about this" Alex said worrying the younger girl somewhat.

"Okay?"

"Especially not Nicky", She said pulling off the baseball cap, revealing the candy floss coloured hair where it was once a vibrant copper.

After a good minute of silence, where the blonde was mainly staring at a vulnerable Alex awestruck, she broke it in a fit of laughter "How- What did you do?" The shorter girl managed through bouts of laughter.

Alex crossed her arms self-consciously "I think I read the instructions wrong on the box"

"Well alls we need now is Frankie Avalon and you're all set to be a beauty school drop out" Piper quipped, quite proud at the grimace Alex returned.

"I hate you" She replied, lightly pushing at the shorter girl's shoulder.

"No, you don't. I have your salvation" Piper held the box of hair colour in front of Alex's face.

The older girl snatched the box before walking over to the door to lock it. Nobody else could see her in this state. She then grabbed Piper's hand and dragged her towards the sofa in the living room before depositing her there with the TV remote.

"Watch what you want, you know where the fridge and the VHS's are so you'll survive on your own" Alex said to Piper before returning to the bathroom "And don't go in my bedroom!" She added once in the bathroom, not want Piper - or anybody for that matter - finding the magazines hidden under her mattress that she got from the male section of the magazine stand at the newsagents.

Half an hour later Alex emerged from the bathroom. She definitely wasn't planning on dying her hair near black this morning but she had to admit it did make her look older, so maybe she'd be more likely to land this waitressing job. Really she wanted a more exciting job, like at least a bartending one, but she knew she'd have to have a few more years on her and something a little stronger than hair dye to nail that job. The sight Alex was met when she entered the blue painted room was Piper snuggled up to Mr. Bonkers, who in his own right was knocking on a bit but Alex still loved him for all she was worth, watching the new _Monsters Inc._ VHS shed recent been given by one of her neighbours for helping them move into their flat. Alex knew Piper had yet to see the film and was completely engrossed in the story of the little runaway human and her two monsters. Upon hearing the bathroom door click shut the blonde leant her head back over the sofa to see the older girl.

"Al!"

"So, how'd I look?" The girl in question asked, genuinely concerned that she looked stupid with dark hair. Not that it looked as bad as pink, but she still wasn't sure.

"Definitely more Danny Zuko than Frenchy"

"Good" Alex said with a grin, climbing over the back of the sofa and plucking her tabby from Piper's lap "Does that make you Sandy then?" The now brunette girl asked with a smirk.

"Well, you are the one that I want" Piper replied in a sing-song voice, grinning widely, laughing before she'd even finished leaning over to Alex.

"Wow, you're a nerd." Alex lifted her cat up "Go on Bonks, kill the little WASPy nerd" The pair giggled as the greying cat looked between his owner and her guest before wiggling free and deciding he was safer in his own bed.

"Sorry for not actually getting proper black, I wanted to make sure the woman would believe me that it was for my mum" The blonde said just as Boo was being put into her monster costume.

"You know there're no age restrictions on hair dye, right?" Alex said smiling slightly at her younger friend.

"You know I'm a goody two shoes, right?"

* * *

Several hours later Alex Vause was back on the bus that Piper and herself had travelled on earlier that day to take Piper back to the Chapmans grand home, positively beaming. She'd landed the job and they'd told her she could start next Monday after school. The girl decided to sprint up the stairs to her apartment rather than take the rickety elevator that always smelt of urine and beer. She pushed open the door, completely oblivious to everything around her.

"Mum! I got the job! I did it!" The taller girl cried, running full pelt into her mother and wrapping her into a bear hug where she stood in the kitchen.

"Alex!" The girl pulled away at her mother's tone, her smile quickly being wiped off her face.

"Yeah?" She questioned, "Didn't you say you could use more money?" Alex considered her mother her best friend, she didn't know why she wasn't as happy as her about this job.

"Yes, and you did a good fucking job there, kid. But what on Gods good fucking Earth is your hair doing darker than mine?"

Alex visibly paled at this, in all of her excitement she'd forgotten that she wasn't actually allowed to dye her hair.

"You really couldn't wait another year?"

Alex hastily tried to make her mum understand "It was for the interview, I hated being ginger and it made me look like a kid so they'd be less likely to hire me"

"Who told you that?" Diane questioned, already knowing it sounded a lot like her daughter's bushy-haired friend.

"Nicky" Alex confirmed.

"I'll throttle that little posh shit for taking away my little Ginge" The older Vause said, pulling her daughter in for a hug.

"Mum..."

"Shut up Allie, I'm having a moment. And well done for the job" She said pulling the taller girls head down to kiss her forehead. "Invite the kid over if you want, we're celebrating by going out to dinner"

* * *

As it turned out, Mrs. Nichols had refused _"charity"_ towards her daughter and as soon as Nicky had finished her compulsory horse riding lessons she would come out to dinner and pay for herself and so Diane suggested Alex bring someone else too. But wth her limited number of friends, Alex decided to invite Piper back over, knowing that unless she was already out with Polly or that other new girl in her class - Stella she thought Piper had said - the younger girl would definitely come.

And so that lead towards Diane and Alex Vause, Nicky Nichols and Piper Chapman sitting at a table at the new Italian restaurant, _Morello's,_ with Alex and Piper flicking bits of bread at each other as they waited to be served their meals.

Diane was still wearing her outfit from her shift at the diner while Alex had gone all out, wearing jeans, her mothers leather jacket, a white t-shirt and charcoal eyeliner, along with her glasses of course. Nicky on the other hand was looking a bit more feminine in a denim skirt and a blouse and Piper was too in a t-shirt but paired with slightly-too-big dungarees. Overall they looked like quite the miss matched bunch.

A girl, Alex recognised as Lorna from her maths class, came over and served them their food. She happened to lock eyes with a suddenly silent Nicky "Enjoy!" She squeaked in a distinctive Brooklyn accent.

"Trust me, I will" Nicky replied with a smirk, grabbing a fork and tucking into her lasagne, causing both the girl and Piper to blush bright red.

Alex seemed to be the only one to notice the latter reaction and after sucking up a strand of spaghetti and seeing no change in how tinted pink the blonde's cheeks were laughed out loud at her "Calm down, Pipes, it wasn't you she was flirting"

"Could if you wanted me to, Chapman" Nichols joked, causing Piper to blush even further. "I may only be 14 but I can tell that girl was _hot_!"

"Leave the poor Piper alone" Diane scolded the pair, rubbing the youngest girls shoulder and pointing at the older two with her fork. The poor kid was in way over her head and clearly smitten with her daughter and wasn't even aware of it yet.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I wasn't too sure about this chapter but I'd like to thank you all for so many reviews, favourites and follows! I'm still blown away with how many people like this story and I can assure in the future the story will get far more Vauseman as they both enter their teenage years. Also, I think this is the first update where I have balls up the uploading process. Thank you for bearing with me with my complete lack of knowledge on America or New York but please leave a review on how I could improve, where you think the story could go or what you think of this chapter! - E**


	6. Chapter 5

**Ages 16 and 12**

When Diane Vause's contract had ran out Piper was convinced that the very earth was crumbling beneath her and that she'd be completely alone for the rest of her days in the grand house of Chapman. Even to the point where at the first day back at school after Cal's birthday she broke down in her Year 8 ICT class and Alex had to be pulled out of her own lesson to try and get the girl to stop crying, and it was then that the older girl promised the blonde that she wasn't ever leaving her and she could visit her and Diane whenever she pleased.

A few weeks after this was when Alex first suggested, half way up a tree in the middle of a park nearby Piper's house in early Autumn, that they go see Silent Hill even though it was rated 17, because Alex had played the game at Nicky's and liked it.

"Come on Pipes, I can definitely pass for 17!" Alex argued, swinging her leg over the nearest branch and straddling it. Today was her first day without Nicky or the girl that she definitely did _not_ have a crush on, as far as her mother and everyone else was concerned that was, and it was somewhat refreshing for the brunette to be away from them all.

"But we're not 17 yet Alex. What if we see something that scars us for life?" Piper squeaked, trying to keep up with Alex's much longer legs and get on the same branch. Entirely convinced that she would fall and die, the blonde made Alex shuffle further along the thick branch so Piper could both lean back against the main body of the trees trunk and hold Alex's hand as an extra safety net.

"What? You scared they'll have sex or something" She teased, laughing as Piper fumbled to steady herself on the branch. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Recuperating herself Piper started her well thought out speech "We could get kicked out and loose our money on the could see something horrifying and have nightmares for the next ten years. Our parents could find out and then-" She rambled in a progressively higher and faster pitch.

"Fine, I'll take Nicky" Alex stated knowing full well the younger girl would hate to miss an opportunity to spend time with her, even if nowadays the time Alex could spend with the blonde were more limited.

"No! Erm, I mean, I guess our parents wouldn't mind too much..."

"Hmm," The brunette answered with a smirk.

"And I'd have you there to protect me if anything bad happened"

"Of course"

"And you work so losing money on a ticket wouldn't be _so_ catastrophic" Piper reasoned.

"Wow, big word there Pipes"

"Shut up" Piper swung her leg out to playfully kick Alex in the shin, resulting in the older girl having to let of Piper's hand and gripping with both her hands and legs to the branch.

"Fuck, I need to be alive to watch the film with you, you know" Alex chuckled slightly wary, very aware of the almost 10-foot drop below them.

Piper stuck out her tongue in response and earned a full grin from the older girl.

* * *

The very next day Piper was waiting just across the road from the cinema wrapped up in a purple and white woolen jumper as well as Alex's far-too-big hoodie after her solid 45 minutes of being cold. Shoving her hands in the stolen items pockets she watched the tall brunette make her way over.

"What'd I tell you, Piper!" She said with a triumphant grin. She had to admit Alex Vause could definitely pass for 17. Even if she was somewhat lanky, the older girls broad shoulders and now dark hair alone made her look older. Alex's other _developments_ Piper had definitely noticed and was definitely jealous of added to the effect as well as the eyeliner and leather jacket the girl now wore almost daily.

" _Zoey_ , Alex, call me Zoey" Piper smiled as her companion returned.

"Fine then, _Zoey_ ," Alex grinned before wafting the tickets, that Mrs. Chapman had offered to pay for to get Piper out of the house, in front of her nose " _I_ got the tickets"

This time, the blonde didn't react, however. She was more focused on a car adjacent to them."Pipes? You still with me?" The older girl asked.

"That's my dad" Alex turned around to look in the direction to where Piper was looking perplexed at.

"Oh," The brunette said dumbly as Mr. Chapman opened the car door and kissed the woman who exited. "When'd your mum dye her hair?"

"She didn't" The younger girl stated "And my dad is away on a business trip" Alex was fairly certain Piper must've been in shock because she'd never seen the girl look so out of place and both saddened and completely emotionless at the same time. The ever two conflicting her face before her bright blue eyes shined with tears.

Panicking, Alex pulled Piper in for a hug before she did cry. as she often had done when the blonde was much younger. The younger girl loosely wrapped her thin arms around Alex but continued to look over to her father.

"Piper" Alex held the girls head with both hands to pry her eyes away. When blue finally met green, the brunette smiled weakly, tucking a couple of stray strands of blonde hair behind her ear. "The films not that great anyway, my friend Rachel has already watched it"

The blonde preteen merely nodded, still a little out of it. She knew things were bad but not _this_ bad? Was that why her dad was never home? And why her mum's diet consisted almost entirely of cottage cheese and gin?

Alex moved her hands from Piper's face to her hand and made her way back to the ticket booth to blag her way to a refund for her tickets, using their age as an excuse.

* * *

After around ten minutes of arguing with the older teenager in the booth, then the manager, Alex had now got a £10 note in one hand and Piper's hand in her other. The younger of the two still hadn't spoken much but she seemed much less shook up than before. Knowing Diane was working until 12 tonight Alex decided bringing Piper home for a while would be fine.

Soon enough the pair had been greeted by the ageing Vause cat at the door of the apartment with a tattered golden _56_ on the white door. Once they were inside Alex left Piper in the doorway and went to collect a blanket and a book. When in her room she decided to call Rachel.

"Hey.." Alex muttered into the phone's receiver, careful to keep her voice down. "I know, listen babe-" the brunette groaned as the girl on the other side of the line continued to speak. "I'm sorry but something happened my cousin, I can't go to the party" A short awkward silence followed "I know, babe, I really am srry... Yeah, she's fine, just upset" The teenager at the other end of the line spoke for a little while longer "Yeah, see you then. Make sure to set Nicky up for me!" She finished in a slight attempt to make the girl hate her a little less. She really wanted this girl to like her back.

Upon her return to the living room, the younger Vause noticed Piper had barely moved an inch, having only leaned down to pet Mr. Bonkers. Grinning, the brunette threw the blanket over the blonde's head before grabbing her around the waist and hauling her over her shoulder with ease due to her slight frame. For the first real time since Piper saw her dad she spoke, laughing out between weak blows to the older girls back "Alex!"

The older girl in question deposited herself, then Piper, on to the sofa and made sure the 12-year-old was tucked neatly between her legs before untangling her from the blanket. Piper faked a scowl at Alex before her demeanour cracked and she grinned.

"We have vast selection of cartoons for you to choose from, but I for one am reading my new book" The older of the pair stated, lifting up her new copy of _The Great Gatsby_ dear old Diane had gotten her for her birthday but hadn't had time to complete yet, despite her next birthday being in less than 3 months.

The girls settled into a comfortable silence as Piper watched old reruns of _Tom and Jerry_ and _Looney Toons_ to take her mind off of everything whilst cuddling up against Alex, who had her nose in the book still and absent-mindedly playing with the blonde hair rested against her, only breaking away from twiddling it to turn her next page. It was somewhere around 4 episodes later that Piper felt the book drop onto her head and she noticed that Alex had actually fallen asleep.

And it was several hours later when Diane Vause returned home to the dark room illuminated by the TV to find Piper asleep on the still sleeping form of her daughter.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Sorry for the slightly late update but at least I got it out on the right day! My excuse is that A Levels are impossible and I am not mentally prepared for adulthood. Anyway, next chapter they're teenagers which a lot of you seem excited for, I know I am! Thank you so much for reading and all of the follows, favourites and reviews and I hope you continue. As always, please feel free to give me input on how I could improve, your thoughts on the chapter or where you think the story should go!**

 **(Ps. The next chapters a good one) - E**


	7. Chapter 6

**Ages 17 and 13**

The only thing Piper had to look forward to as of lately was Stella's 14th birthday party, even if it was really her older brothers party and seen as their parents were out and he was having a party anyway he said Stella could invite some friends over.

Seen as neither Piper, Polly or Stella could drive yet Piper had decided to suck up to her favourite ex-ginger for lift, Alex was going anyway to be fair.

As the young blonde made her way towards the well known Vause flat she felt very self-conscious. Polly was still grounded for being caught with a boy in her bedroom and had decided to live vicariously through Piper, completing her in far more makeup than the blonde would ever optionally wear and making her wear a crop top that Polly had bought without her parents finding out. Tucking a loose strand of curled blonde hair behind her ear and pulling her thin cardigan around herself tighter Piper made her way up the grotty stairs.

As she knocked on the door a muffled "Fuck" could be heard before what sounded like a tin of some sort being thrown on the floor. The door opened slightly and the brunette peeked out.

"Oh, Piper, it's just you" She breathed, opening the door and signaling for the younger girl to enter.

"Hi" Another, unfamiliar voice, piped once the blonde was in the flat. The girl was quite a bit shorter than Alex from what she could tell where she was now reaching under the sofa to retrieve the tin, presumably the one thrown in a rush before, then took out a still lit joint. Alex shot her a warning glare but she merely shrugged before taking a long drag. as she exhaled her shoulder length mousy brown hair was clouded over.

"Pipes, this is Sylvia. She's coming too" Piper nodded, feeling very nervous. Alex never said she was bringing friends. Alex, noticing this grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her bedroom "Come help me get ready"

Once the bedroom door was firmly shut the brunette looked towards the younger girl. "Sorry about her, I mentioned the party at work and she kept insisting I took her"

"It's fine, you're allowed to have friends" Piper offered with a small smile.

Alex knew ever since Piper had told her mother about her father cheating and being punished for it Piper rarely caused trouble anymore and often tried to go out of her way, even if it put her in situations she hated, to make other people feel better about themselves. Even her closest friends. Letting her off this time the taller of the two made her way to her desk, where her makeup was. "Go pick me a dress, I'll fix my face" She said with a grin.

After eyeliner had been applied and hair had been pinned half an hour had passed and Piper was laid back on Alex's bed sheets with her arms spread out staring at the ceiling.

"You know everything in your wardrobe is black" The blonde muttered bored

"Makes washing for my mum easier" Alex quipped, snatching the black dress with the two white stripes around the middle from Piper. She then carelessly pulled off her t-shirt, it's not like it was anything Piper hadn't seen before, they were like sisters, when something caught Piper's eye. The blonde sat up on the bed and looked to Alex's shoulder.

"You got a tattoo." She stated dumbly, admiring the presumably new red roses from afar "I mean, I know you got the little star on your waistline area but-"

She was cut off by Alex laughing at her "I thought I'd shown you already, kid. My friend's dad did it about a month back for free" She then made her way over to Piper so she could get a better look at it. The young blonde gently traced the edges of the pigmented skin, looking in awe. Piper's own boyfriend, Kevin, wouldn't even have those temporary tattoos you get out of sweet packets.

"It's _so_ cool, Alex!"

She smiled, breaking Piper's trance by grabbing the back of her head and pulling her in, ruffling her hair. "Come on, we're gonna be late"

"Don't mess up my hair!" Piper squeaked as then older girl grabbed her dress and continued to dress.

* * *

"What if react badly to the beer?"

"You won't"

"What if I can't find anyone my age?"

"Find me"

"What if-"

"For god sake, Piper you'll be fine" Alex said with a smile, locking up her car. Pete was a good friend of hers and he knew of her _preferences_ so Alex knew he'd be fine with her sleeping off her hangover at his house without him trying anything dodgy

"Alex!" Someone inside called out. It was muffled by the loud sound of dance music and conversations.

"Youll be fine, I know you. Anyone gives you shit come find me" Piper nodded before Alex blended in with the nearby crowd.

Within two hours Piper had found Stella, who had recently shaved half of her once long chestnut hair as a dare and act of teenage rebellion, and had consumed one and a half cheap, lukewarm beers. Piper, having never drunk before, was quite tipsy from just that and she decided that she liked it but was scared to drink too much more in case she turned in to her mother. The blonde was sat on Stella's large bed to get away from Pete's friends who were loud and scary and kept offering her various pills. A few minutes later and slightly more recuperated the blonde took another swig of her drink before deciding to brave it outside again.

Outside, however, Alex was having a great time. Somewhere along the line, someone had given her a half full bottle of off-brand tequila and some _really_ hot blonde who she'd never met before was all over her, her deep brown eyes never leaving her green ones for more than a minute. The brunette ended up making the first move and lunged forward in to a messy, drunken kiss. The girl tasted of beer and weed but Alex didn't care. And Alex definitely didn't care as the older girl dragged Alex off to the downstairs bathroom and fucked her against a wall. It wasn't exactly how Alex had expected to lose her virginity, but she didn't mind too much. She didn't have anything to compare to but for a while it felt like the two of them in that unfamiliar room were the only ones in existence. After that, the girl, who Alex had later found out was called Sophie, hadn't left the brunette's side.

Piper emerged from the back door and tried to find Alex amongst the masses in the garden. They'd been here a few hours now and Piper felt a little sick, even though she hadn't even had three bottles. Soon enough, Piper found Alex. The taller girl was smiling dopily at some girl in her arms. Piper wasn't too sure why but this made her feel strange. _Why was Alex looking at that girl like that?_ Then another question popped in to her mind: Why did she even care? It wasn't like she was, or ever would be, Alex's _girlfriend_ or anything.

But still Piper made her way over to the pair "Alex" Piper tried to level her voice but it still came out somewhat panicked and quiet. When the girl in question made no attempt to look at who was calling her Piper tried again, louder.

"Hm?" Alex looked up from the other woman and to the shorter girl in front of her, "Oh, hey Pipes!"

What was she going to do now? The blonde hadn't thought the plan this far through. And at the moment distraction, the other blonde started kissing her Alex's neck.

"I want to go home" She mumbled, looking downwards. Why had she come over? She had no right.

Alex was momentarily dazed by the older woman's affections but snapped back shortly after "You only live two blocks away, kid"

Piper wanted to cry. Why was that woman doing that to Alex? She did arrive with her after all.

Alex, even in her post-sex drunken state, noticed Piper's telltale signs of an oncoming crying fit that she was trying to hold back. With slight regret, the taller girl pulled the woman off of her and briefly explained to her what was happening and that shed both be back and put her number in her phone.

Piper had started to walk away by this point and Alex had to run over to her to catch her up.

"Hey kid, don't leave without me!" She called as she stumbled to a halt beside the shorter girl, giving her a lopsided smirk. Pipers crestfallen look was suddenly replaced with the biggest smile Alex had even seen.

* * *

"This is you then Pipes"

"Thanks for walking me home Al" The blonde mumbled, somewhat saddened that their walk was over.

"Anytime kid" Alex smiled, drunkenly pulling her in for a hug "You know I love you, of course, I'd walk you home"

Piper wrapped her fairly lanky arms around the older girl "Love you too, Al" She muttered. Even if her parents didn't love her, or even each other, at least Alex loved her and she knew she'd always be there for her.

With that Alex kissed the blonde's crown before stepping backward with a smile, waving as she set off back.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

 **Do you like it? I feel this chapters a bit less of a filler one and it's early to make up for the late one last week. Also, I know that the legal age for drinking in America is about 21 but, I don't know about Americans, but nearly every English 13 year old has drank before. I'd like to mention this story recently broke 7500 views and 50 reviews, woohoo, thanks so much! As always, thank you for all your reviews, follows, favourites and for reading. Please leave a review to tell me what you think of this story or how I could improve. Feel free to leave a suggestion for a future chapter too! - E**


	8. Chapter 7

**Ages 19 and 15**

Alex, after having met her father for the first time and deciding she most definitely didn't want to ever meet him again, had grown impossibly closer to her mother. So when the time finally came for Alex to move out and closer to tattoo parlour she recently landed a job at, she clung to her mother's side like a toddler.

"Allie, Christ, kid!" The elder Vause chuckled as her daughter followed her around like a lost puppy "I'm not kicking you out, you know"

"I'll miss you"

"I'm not dead yet, kid" Diane smiled and reached up to ruffle Alex's raven and now blue tipped hair before going to get another box marked in the distinctive all caps writing of her daughters writing ' _AV_ '. "Al, Mummy will visit you straight after work, I promise" Diane teased.

"Shut up" Alex tried to hide a smile and she collected the final box from her room. The bedroom she had had all of her life was sad without as many old knickknacks and keepsakes and clothes. You could even see the colour of the carpet which hadn't seen the light of day for many years.

The trip across town to the new flat was spent in relative silence as neither of the two women wanted to leave each other's side and Alex couldn't take her bike as there was nowhere to put her boxes so Diane was taking the bus home and delivering her beloved bike later on. Since leaving high school with almost straight A's, as it turned out you had to show up to some subjects to actually get an A in, Diane had been prepared for Alex leaving for college but both of the women knew that they couldn't afford it.

In this silence, Alex was wondering if this was actually the right decision. She had the best mum ever, not absent like Nicky's or a closeted alcoholic like Piper's. She thought back to last year when she finally came out to her mum.

 _"Al, what's wrong?" She had never been this scared of her mother, she was her best friend. She hated that her mum could read her so well._

 _"Mum," Now or never "I'm gay" From where she stood in the middle of the cramped kitchen she watched Diane's every movement from where she was cooking dinner on the stove. She turned around, hand on hip with a tea towel loosely in her grip. Alex blanched and swallowed._

 _"Allie, love, you've been staring at girls since you were 12." Alex let out a breath she didn't know she was holding "At least I don't have to worry about you falling for a guy like your father or getting pregnant, eh?" Diane laughed. Alex wasn't even sure why she was so worried. "But you better still give me some grandbabies"_

 _"Ew, mum!"_

Pulling up to her new home, Alex looked up towards the building. It seemed a lot cleaner than her other flat, she thought idly.

"Well kid, I'm off to work. See you later"

"Love you. Bye" She waved as best she could without letting go of the two boxes

* * *

"Yo, Blondie!" Piper climbed out of her bed to see who was in her back garden shouting at her.

"Nicky? Shh!" It was almost 9 at night, her mother would've drunk herself to sleep by now and she certainly didn't want to wake her. A well-practiced routine of climbing out of her window quickly followed. Being on the third floor was far too high for Piper to still not be scared every time but she knew the front door would be locked. She jumped from her window onto the nearby tree branch and scurried her way down the tree before dropping to the ground.

"Damn, Chapman, you part squirrel or something?" The shorter girl laughed.

"Alex say's I eat like a squirrel" The blonde breathed, out of breath.

"Speaking of, Vause has moved in to her new flat and I thought we could christen the place" Nichols held up the bottle of amber liquid, older than both of them.

"How'd you even get tequila? You're 18!" Piper, always the goody two shoes, asked. Worried that they'd get busted by the cops or something.

"From Mother dearest. Now come on!" The wild-haired girl grabbed the taller blonde's thin wrist and pulled her back towards the fence she climbed over to break in.

Looks like her plans with her boyfriend were off.

* * *

Convinced whoever was outside her door was about to smash it open soon, the brunette made her way over to her new door "What the fuc-"

"Hey, Stretch. I come bearing gifts!" Nicky pushed her way in to the fairly empty flat, decorated with only sparse furniture that was donated by various family members.

"Hi Nick" Alex was very confused as to they the pair were here. She'd not even unpacked.

"Gift One" She held out the expensive bottle of tequila "Gift Two" The wild-haired girl held out a box that read ' _Tattoo_ _Gun_ ' in styled text across the front "And Gift Three" Piper suddenly felt herself be pushed forward and looked back at Nicky with a confused look.

In turn, Alex raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. Piper blushed deep red at this for no reason in particular that she could fathom, causing both of the older pair to burst out laughing

"The third is purely for entertainment" Nick added.

Serval hours and shots later, Diane had turned up after her shift extremely stressed and decided to join in with the trios little party. And in Piper's inability to digest tequila and her alcohol induced state had ended up leaping into Diane's arms, having not seen her in many months and stated that Diane was her "favourite Vause", leading Alex to feel the need to change the young blonde's mind, subsequently had been sucking up to her all night.

Nicky suggested breaking out the tattoo gun shed gifted Alex once Piper was in the bathroom with Diane babysitting her to make sure she didn't throw up or pass out.

"Ouch!" Nicky squealed as soon as the gun touched her. She had decided upon a star just above her elbow, and seen as it was a free tattoo and Alex obviously was good at tattooing due to her job, so she figured 'why not?' The reason was it fucking hurt.

"Al, why are you killing Nicky?" The blonde plopped back down on her seat on the thin rug.

"Nicky asked me to" Alex mumbled, fully focused on the task at hand.

"Let me do you" It wasn't even a question. Ever since Piper first got drunk she had learnt that alcohol gave her liquid balls. Gone was the scared little WASP.

Alex momentarily stopped her actions and smirked over at Piper "You want to what to me, _Pipes_?" She asked, knowing full well the reaction she'd get from her little blonde. She'd never been this openly sexual with her but it was only for fun.

"You couldn't get me if you tried" Piper stated, in a very un-Piper way, taking Alex completely by surprise "Let me tattoo you once you've done"

"Okay" Alex was confident in Piper, it wasn't _that_ hard to do. She finished Nicky faster than she probably should have done.

After another half an hour Diane had retreated to Alex's bedroom and decided that she would sleep there for tonight and go straight to work tomorrow from there.

"What'd you want to be done?" Piper asked absently.

Going over the colour once more, Alex took a second to look up at Piper. "You know how my mum does that thing with throwing salt over her shoulder? I've been thinking for a while and I want a saltshaker" Nicky snickered at this, causing Alex to glare at the back of her head "Remeber who is permanently marking your body here, Nichols. It wouldn't be too hard to write ' _I_ _love_ _dick_ ' and ruin your pussy hunting career"

Within another ten minuted the tattoo was done and Alex was quite happy with her work. "Right then ladies, seen as Stretch has fucked up my arm, I've drunk all of the booze and there's nobody naked, I'm off home" Nichols announced before heading towards the door.

Alex looked over to Piper smirking sloppily from her drunken haze.

She quickly changed the needle in the gun and handed it over to Piper. In her right mind, she knew giving a drunken 15-year-old, who'd never tattooed before, a tattoo gun was a bad idea but Piper was a good artist. and it's not like she'd ever even see her shoulder.

Without a thought Alex stripped off her t-shirt and laid flat on her stomach, stretching her long arms back and undoing her bra.

Piper's breath hitched at the pale skin. She'd seen Alex butt naked many atime, but this was different. Piper didn't want to know why.

The blonde then set on the tattoo, wincing slightly at Alex's slight intake of breath once the needle was in her skin.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Sorry it's short, but this is more of a scene-setting chapter for the next one. I've rewritten and deleted this chapter three times and I still don't like it but I've started the next one and I can assure you its better than this one. Also, I'd like to add that this is officially the longest I've kept a story going, this story has just broke 10k views (!), the last chapter got 18 reviews (! !) and this story now has 101 follows (! ! !). Thank you so much for everyone who has read, favorited, followed and reviewed this story. You make my day!**

 **As always please leave a review to tell me what you think of this story or how I could improve and feel free to leave a suggestion for a future chapter too! - E**


	9. Chapter 8

**Ages 20 and 16**

When she first heard the glass smash, she made Stella stay absolutely silent. Her main fear being that her parents were in the process of starting a fight. Little did Piper know what a godsend that would be.

Angry, heavy footsteps could be heard marching up the stairs shortly followed by the clip of high heels. Soon enough Piper's neatly painted bedroom door was swung open so hard it partly pulled away at the hinges.

"Get out!" Piper had never seen her father this angry. _Why would he be so mad at her?_ Surely he didn't like Kevin _that_ much.

Just as Mr. Chapman was about to shout again Stella rose to her feet, muttered sorry and scurried away faster than Piper had every seen her move before.

"Piper Elizabeth Chapman! Explain yourself" Bellowed her father.

She didn't understand what she'd done to make them so mad. Seemly sensing her daughter's confusion, Carol Chapman made her way over to the bed where the young blonde was sat cross-legged and pulled her up by her left ear to a standing position,

"God, what've I done now?" The girl mumbled, rubbing her ear.

"Piper, you have no right to use the Lords name in such a way" Stated her father. _Is it possible for someone to actually turn purple?_

"Do you care to tell us why Kevin just called us?" Asked her mother, arms crossed and her face plastered with a look that could kill.

"Mum, he's just being desperate. He-" Piper was met with Carol Chapman's notorious slap, well known to any who had crossed her path.

Bill cut her off before she could even begin to fathom an idea as to why even her mother in her inhibited state was so furious "You've been whoring yourself out to that gay girl, haven't you?" _What_? thought Piper.

"No child of mine is a lesbian" He then added, his voice firm.

"What? Daddy-" She'd not even done anything with Stella! It wasn't that she disliked the girl but still.

Her thoughts were once again cut off by her father. But this time, a sharp pain flared up in her cheek. This wasn't a Carol slap, that's for sure. This one hurt more than just her ego. Raising her hand up to her heated face in disbelief, the family were silent.

"You need to leave" It was her mother now. What was happening?

"I want you out in fifteen minutes, or so help you" Her head felt fuzzy. She barely even acknowledged her father's voice.

Alone.

She was now alone.

As if on auto pilot she grabbed her biggest backpack and grabbed handfuls of clothes from the floor and shoved them in to the bag. She moved to her desk and gathered her phone, wallet and school bag. It was then that the photo frames caught her eye: the family picture taken at Cal's last birthday (obviously missing Danny still), a photo of Piper and Polly at prom and a final photo of her and Alex. On the photo it showed a much simpler time. It was Alex's first day at secondary school and it clearly depicted a 7-year-old, lanky blonde wrapping her thin arms around a much taller redhead. Both of the pair grinning for all they were worth at Diane's camera.

With haste, Piper extracted all of the photos and shoved them in to her school bag and headed towards the door. She halted, looking back to her window. The heat radiating from her cheek told her that she didn't want to confront her parents again and she headed towards the alternative exit.

It wasn't until Piper had made it half way across town that she realised she didn't know where she was heading.

She glared around, taking in her surroundings and noted that she had no idea where she was either. Making her way over to a nearby bench, she sat down and the full force of the situation finally hit. She let herself cry.

She was homeless. What would she do? She couldn't sleep out on the streets, she knew as well as anyone New York wasn't well known for its street safety.

She supposed she could call Polly. Actually, they'd fallen out. Over something minuscule and stupid that she couldn't even remember in this state.

She wiped her eyes.

She could call Alex. Well she could if she had her number. The older brunette had been so busy with work and a general adult life she'd hardly had any time for particular blondes as of late and any time Piper had was spent either with Kevin or Stella. She could always try and find Alex's apartment. She'd been there plenty of times.

What if she turned her away? What if she'd moved again?

 _What's she got to lose_? Piper thought dimly, plucking herself from the bench and set herself to finding Alex's.

* * *

It was near two hours later when Piper finally found the familiar building and she almost started crying again with relief.

It must've been nearing 7 in the afternoon now and the young blonde hadn't had anything to eat since the apple she'd had for breakfast that morning and she was starting to feel it. Exercise and an empty stomach don't work too well together.

Managing to get through the door that only residents could with a well-timed run, the blonde found herself sat outside of number 15. She'd dumped her bags unceremoniously against the wall before sliding down to the ground. So she sat, her legs extended, and waited. It wasn't like she had to be anywhere. Well besides school on Monday but it was a Friday anyway.

Her eyes closed and her head leant back, Piper fell in to a dreamless sleep.

Alex, on the other hand, was _very_ much awake.

After having a straight day of work she'd consumed far too much caffeine to be considered healthy, even for someone of her stature, before helping Nicky get out of some drug related shit. Then whilst on the way home a book had caught her eye in the nearby bookshop's window and the brunette had been completely engrossed in the story since, merely walking home on autopilot while absorbed in to another fantasy land.

That was, of course, until she was almost at her flat when her foot hit something. "What the fuck?" She marked her page and looked down only to see the one and only Piper Chapman, the girl who'd unknowingly proposed to her at age 4. But her Pipes, in the nicest sense possible, looked like shit. Her hair was a mess, her skin was almost as pale as her own porcelain complexion, she looked like she'd been crying and, to top it all off, her lip was crusted in a small amount of blood and the telltale tint of purple on her cheek hinted that she'd been hit, pretty hard, recently too.

Alex instinctively offered her hand to the blonde "You okay? " The blonde didn't reply. Her eyes merely filled with tears once more "Pipes?" This time, she broke in to full on sobs, and as Alex had done with her since they were both kids, the older girl pulled Piper in to her shoulder and wrapped her arms around her.

"Hey, Kid" Alex whispered in her ear, one hand splayed one her back, drawing circled, while the other held her head against her broad shoulder. "How about we go inside, yeah? My landlord will have my ass if he sees us out here blocking up the corridor" She said with a small smile, looking in to Piper's watery blue eyes.

Alex unlocked the door then grabbed Piper's bags, confused as to why she had them in the first case but nit wanting to press the matter. She then ushered the motionless girl inside.

The brunette set Piper down on her second-hand sofa and went off in search for the first aid box she _knew_ Diane had given her when she had first moved in.

The blonde, in the meantime, was elsewhere completely. She still hadn't managed to come up with a way to say sorry to Alex for being so absent recently or how exactly to explain why she was here in the first place. _Why was she here?_ Even if Alex did let her stay the night she could bever have the audacity to ask to stay until she found somewhere else. Once her Grandmother had returned from her trip to New Zealand she always could go live with her. Although, she might have to see her mother then, and that would be bad. _She was screwed_.

"Pipes?" The brunette broke the younger girl away from her thoughts as she sat on the opposite side of the small couch. The slight dip in her seat made Piper jump.

"Hey, Kid, let's get you cleaned up a little" Alex said softly, leaning in towards Piper with antiseptic wipes.

Working with the careful precision of a well-trained tattooist, Alex tended to the split lip and dabbed away at the crusted blood. And soon enough her work was done and she passed a small bag of frozen peas to the girl, who in return looked bewildered.

"They're for your cheek, idiot" The older girl laughed at Piper's innocence and the blonde actually managed a small smile back as she held the frozen bag against her face.

* * *

"Al?" Piper called out from the hallway. The girl in question was making coffee for the pair of them.

"Yeah" She headed towards the living room, passing Piper, with the two coffees.

"I didn't bring any clean clothes" Piper was more nervous than Alex had seen in a long while

"I'll wash them, don't worry" Alex smiled and sat back in to the sofa "Now come get your coffee"

"Thanks... And I mean I don't have anything to wear tonight. You said I could stop over but you know how I am with showers and if I don't-"

"Not lost your foot-in-mouth disease then, kid?" The brunette laughed "I'll give you a shirt and some underwear of mine if you'd like. Although you might have to pass on the bra, no offence"

"None taken" Piper plopped herself on the seat next to Alex and grabbed her coffee. She felt significantly more carefree than she had a mere two hours ago when she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Once whatever shoddy soap that was playing on the tv had run its course Piper had headed off to the shower and Alex had loaned the blonde some clothes. So after the shower, Piper felt significantly more human and getting dressed into Alex's clothes made her feel giddy. Looking herself over in the full-length mirror of the bathroom for the third time in as many minutes, the blonde took in how she looked; she expected to look different, more mature somehow since she has been kicked out.

But for the third time, the same skinny blonde looked back at her. Alex's aged Led Zepplin t-shirt hung off her a considerable amount, as it was too big for Alex herself, and covered to just above her mid-thigh.

Emerging from the bathroom the girl took in Alex laying on the bed. She was nose deep in some book with a title with something to do with _noughts and crosses_. The older of the two put the book down once she saw Piper in the doorway. Alex only had a single bed, mainly due to the fact that a double wouldn't fit in the small room, so when she patted the bed and said "Come be my little spoon" Piper's eyebrows shot to her hairline.

"I can sleep on the couch" Offered Piper.

"Come on, you've slept in my bed loads of times" _She had a point, why did this feel different?_

In response, the blonde climbed under the covers with Alex and the pair arranged themselves as best the could to remain comfortable and not fall off.

With one arm folded under her head and one brushing away the hair from Piper's ear, Alex whispered: "So, you gonna tell me why you showed up at my flat for the first time in months bust up?"

"No?" She naively hoped Alex wouldn't ask this but she could practically feel the eyebrow raise behind her "My parents kicked me out because they think I'm gay" Piper rushed in a lowered tone, not wanting to admit it.

"Are you?" Asked Alex.

"What?"

"Are you gay or are they just being fuckers?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I think I'm maybe somewhere on a Kinsey scale, y'know?" Alex felt for her, truly. She couldn't imagine her own mother not accepting her "They should love me even still, though, right?" Piper had all her defences down now. Her eyes threatening to spill tears and not daring to look at the woman behind her.

"Right" She felt Alex lean in a shortly kiss below where she was fiddling with her hair "But you'll always have me"

"I know" Piper mumbled back. She felt relief wash over her and it almost knocked her tired.

Alex moved her hand from the blonde's hair and instead wrapped it securely around Piper "Now go to sleep. I'm planning a surprise for tomorrow"

* * *

Piper awoke the next day to strong aroma of bacon. The blonde was confused for a few seconds before the previous day hit her, alone with the dull ache in her cheek. Turning over she was surprised to see Alex's alarm clock indicating it was nearly 11; she hadn't slept in this late in years.

Noticing her clothes washed and folded at the foot of the bed she quickly dress and went off in search of food.

In the kitchen, Alex was just squirting tomato sauce on to the bacon sandwiches when Piper entered.

"Hey" The older girl smiled, "Thought I'd have to eat these without you"

"Good luck with that" Piper laughed and sat down at the table before tucking in.

Within a few bites, Alex was smirking widely at her, focused on her lips seemingly.

"What?" _Was she being paranoid? Why was she looking at her like that?_

The brunette leant forward and with her finger wiped away a dollop of sauce from her mouth "Forgot how much of a messy eater you are, kid"

Piper blushed almost to the same shade as the sauce before continuing with her sandwich.

Alex went off to pack a bag for this surprise trip, still not letting on in the slightest to Piper what or where it might be.

And it wasn't until almost two hours later, clung to the back of Alex for dear life on her motorbike, when she finally found out.

"We're going to the beach?" The blonde squeaked in surprise.

Alex nodded, happy with the reaction.

"But I don't have a swimming costume. Or sun cream. What am I supposed-"

The blonde was cut off from her rambling as a swim suit was thrown at her. It was a very bright floral pattern, and upon closer inspection, she realised even the size was right.

"I got it while you were sleeping" Alex smiled, grabbing the shocked blondes hand "Now come on and get changed.

In record time the pair got changed in the public toilets and stuffed their respective clothing back in to Alex's bag.

Piper found herself staring a little longer than strictly necessary at Alex's swimsuit. It was low cut and black and Piper felt something in her lower abdomen that was definitely not appropriate to feel about one of your best friends.

"Like what you see Pipes?" Alex smirked in her signature cocky way.

Piper pulled her eyes away from the elder's cleavage and quickly tried to devise a plan about getting caught. "Al, you're ginger" She stated dumbly.

"You sure?" The woman in question raised an arched eyebrow, looking up as if to see her dyed brunette hair which was tied messily in to a bun.

"I mean, you'll burn. You know, without sun cream" _Yes,_ thought Piper, _this was working._

Digging in her bag Alex pulled out a bottle of _factor 50_ , and sprayed her face, chest, stomach and arms respectively in a well-versed ritual.

"Do my back?" And so Piper did, even if it made her extremely uncomfortable because she definitely couldn't deny what she was feeling now as she rubbed the blue liquid on to Alex's pale skin.

Piper herself was then covered up and Alex too did her back, which she had to bite down on her lower lip to suppress a moan. They then headed out on to the beach until the sun began to set.

* * *

"Fuck, I hate you!"

Piper sniggered. They were back in the cheap hotel room Alex had booked them for the night. "What was I supposed to do about it?"

"Tell me!" Alex declared, indicating to her reddened skin.

"I didn't notice" Piper truly did feel sorry for her, but you had to admit the crimson shade did look funny on her.

"I hate you" She repeated, sulking. She went to cross her arms but regretted it instantly.

"No, you don't." Piper stated "Go get a cold shower and I'll go down to the shops to get some aloe vera"

" _Fine_ " Mumbled the taller girl, stomping off to the bathroom. She was highly offended that Piper managed to achieve a golden tan and she was burnt to a crisp even though it wasn't a particularly hot day.

Half an hour later Alex was stood in front of Piper, covered only by her wrapped towel and her underwear.

"What?" Alex asked, seemly unphased by her lack of clothes "It hurts to wear anything else"

Piper nodded and swallowed nervously, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Come lay on your front."

Alex did as she was told begrudgingly. So much for trying to take Piper's mind off of things, she'd ended up just hurting herself.

"Ow!" She flinched as soon as the cream touched back.

Piper continued her administrations on the pink skin "Stop being a baby, it'll help"

"Sure" Alex grumbled.

"It will. Aloe gel contains active compounds that reduce pain and inflammation as well as stimulate skin growth and repair, it's really good for the skin." Piper rambled as she continued to gently rub in the gel, noticing how the tattoo she had given Alex last year actually suited her quite well.

And it wasn't until much later on in the night when Alex finally stopped sulking a put a shirt on and would actually talk more than three words to Piper. They were on the twin single beds on the opposite sides of the bedroom where Piper was finally telling Alex the full story of her ex-boyfriend and her maybe-sort-of-girlfriend Stella and the full tale behind how she was evicted from her house and how she didn't know where to go.

"Move in with me" Alex stated.

"I couldn't" Piper didn't know what to say, she just didn't want to put on Alex.

"Why not? I'll ring my landlord when we get back. You have a job so you can put too on the bills"

"But-"

"And my boss really liked your work you did on me, you could even do designs for him if you'd li-"

"Okay" Piper smiled. It's not like she had too many options anyway.

" _Okay_?" Alex was far too happy for the given situation. The 16-year-old girl had just been kicked out of her own home for being accused of being gay, for god's sake!

"Yeah" The pair both smiled widely in their bed under the cover of dark. At least it wasn't, all bad then.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I'm sorry that this turned out so long, I fear it may have been a little rambly. Also, 19 reviews on the last chapter?! It wasn't even good. Thank you anyway though!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter (It's the longest thus far) and thank you all for reading as well as giving your kind PMs/reviews. Also, I'm fairly certain those who requested 'Piper in peril' have been in to my notes! This has been a long time coming, thanks for the suppost, hoenstly.**

 **As always, please feel free to leave a review on how you thought this chapter was, ways I could improve or ideas for future chapters. -E**


	10. Chapter 9

**Ages** **21** **and** **16**

Piper had been living with Alex for several months now and they'd not encountered any major problems yet. Piper had gotten Cal to steal some of her belongings and bring them around to Alex's and Alex had cleaned out her designing studio, which was actually just a windowless room about the same size as her own bedroom which she drew up designs for tattoos in, and managed to get ahold of a bed for Piper from a guy who owed her a favour.

But today was different. After several months of Piper assuring Alex that she was definitely 'not gay', the brunette didn't expect to be woken up at 6 O'clock in the fucking morning by two horny teenagers in the next room.

Grumbling, Alex pulled her pillow over her head to try and drown out the noise. _Why the fuck did they have to be quite so loud?_

To make matters worse, the phone on the bedside table started blaring out King of Leon's " _Sex_ _on_ _Fire_ ". Letting out a loud groan she grabbed for the phone intent on killing whomever was ringing her at this hour.

"What?" She grumbled, head still under the pillow.

"Well, aren't you just a fucking ray of sunshine" Alex considered putting the phone down now and getting this murder over with.

"The fuck do you want, Nichols?"

"Well I just wanted to wish my favourite Amazonian happy birthday, is that too much to ask?"

"Nicky, the fuck? It isn't my birthday. What day is it?" Alex had a bad feeling about this.

"The 25th? It like 6 pm. It's _really_ dark tonight" Alex groaned, rubbing her temple in an attempt to rid the already growing headache. Piper really needed to be quiet.

"How much have you used?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about Miss. Vause" Nicky sniggered, clearly off her tits on whatever her friends had found her.

"Give me 20 minutes and I'll be over" Alex sighed, dragging herself out of bed. She really hoped Nicky hadn't gone back to heroin. That shit fucked her up last time.

Pulling on her clothes and hating both Nicky and Piper for waking her up when she had to start a 12-hour shift in two hours, Alex made her way over to the door. On her way she grabbed the notepad and biro, but then thought against leaving a note as Piper would have school anyway.

She threw the pad back down and slammed the door behind her and set off to find where Nicky might be.

* * *

Within an hour Alex had both found Nicky, confiscated her drugs and been punched, twice might she add. And after locking up Nicky's flat behind her, she left the girl to go cold turkey again.

She was fine with her doing lesser drugs like weed, ecstasy, even crack, but she drew a line at heroin. That shit fucks people up.

As she made her way in to the tattoo parlour, she headed straight to the toilets seen as she was early and could get away with it. She flushed the rest of the baggie down the toilet then set back to work.

Work just ended up adding to Alex's already foul mood. She had a full day of work which started with a 17-year-old Park Slope narcissist wanting a heart on her shoulder with the words 'Derek Forever' written in it and ended with a rather hairy middle aged man who wanted a zombie-like woman, with the largest breast she had yet to permanently draw on someone's body as of yet, on his ass which wasn't a pleasant experience for anybody involved.

So when Alex was finally climbing the stairs back to her apartment and she got another phone call she answered it begrudgingly without even looking at the caller ID.

"Hello" Alex answered flatly.

"Hello Alex"

"Oh, hey Hannah"

"Is that it? Really Lex? I've not even spoken to you in weeks" The girls high pitched voice was ringing through the phone's speaker.

"Babe, I've busy" Alex replied, her husky voice contrasting sharply with the woman's own. She just wanted a cigarette and to go to sleep.

"You're always fucking busy! What even am I to you?" Alex closed her eyes and leant back against the wall of the stairway. She had felt this coming for a while.

"We've been through this. I'm not fucking anyone else" The brunette was losing her patience with her girlfriend. They'd met shortly after Piper moved in and right from the get go she was paranoid of Alex fucking the blonde, but Hannah was nice company and wild in bed so she put up with her. But this was getting a bit much at the moment.

"Fuck you, Lex! Why could you think that?" Alex sighed " _Lexi_ ," God, Alex _hated_ when people called her that "...I think we should break up"

"Sure, Han. I think that'd be for the best. See you around sometime" The brunette could tell the woman was unable to articulate a sentence and took the opportunity to hang up and finish her climb up the stairs.

But when Alex finally pushed her way in to her flat to see Piper and that fucking kid she lost it.

"Get out" Alex stomped her way to the sofa where to two of them were cuddled up together. "Seriously Justin Beiber, get the fuck out of my house"

"Al" Piper looked up at the older girl with her typical bright blue eyed, puppy dog look.

"No, she needs to get out"

"Listen, I get that you're jealous but-" Stella piped up, still firmly wrapped around Piper.

"No, you listen, I'm not fucking jealous of you, you vegemite eating little shit. I'm just very fucking stressed and tired, which is actually your fault too with how loud you are in bed."

In turn, Piper turned bright red, having presumed Alex had slept through the events of this morning.

"Maybe you should" Piper whispered in to Stella's ear, brushing her hair away as she did.

"Bloody hell, why'd I always get kicked out every time I'm with you?" Piper kissed her cheek as Stella huffed her way over to the door.

Alex threw herself down on to the sofa where Stella was as soon as she'd left.

"The fuck Al?" Piper was cross-legged and staring straight at Alex.

"Piper I've just done a 12-hour shift. I'm allowed to pissy" Alex groaned, pushing her glasses away from her nose and up to her hairline. She rubbed her face and sighed. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd sent to girl packing, Sure she was annoying and she didn't like Piper being all ' _lovely_ - _dovey_ ' as Nicky had once mocked.

"Fuck you Al. Why can't you just be happy for me?" Piper was hurt that Alex wasn't supporting her through this. She was supposed to be there for her "Oh my God! You're jealous" Piper declared, making the older woman turn a shade of pink that was very uncommon for her.

"Fuck off. I'm not jealous of that tattooed kangaroo."

Piper smiled and leaned forward, fully intending to rub it in that she'd discovered a new weakness of Alex's "You _so_ are" Piper laughed and sat on her knees, pushing her hair away from her face. and leaning forward to continue teasing Alex.

"Night Pipes" The brunette quickly stood and retreated to her bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her. What a shitty way to end being 20.

Piper, still glued to her seat, was too surprised to move. Alex didn't even put up a fight. _Wait, did this mean she really was jealous?_ Piper blanched. For as long as she could remember she'd been in love with Alex, and since she was around 13 she first started to realise she liked her as a little _more_ , definitely more than she did Polly or any other of her friends. Oh, she was fucked. Not even just in the literal sense.

* * *

The next morning, Alex was again awoken by a loud noise. This time, it was the slightly more PG sounds of her ringtone. Without opening her eyes or removing herself from the self-made cocoon of blankets, she stretched out one long, pale arm out in to the cold of the room in the general direction of the noise.

"Hello" She rasped. God, she was tired. She had the day oof, why couldn't she just sleep?

"Happy birthday, kid!" Diane's cheery tone practically shouted down the phone.

"Ugh" Alex groaned, rolling over as if to get away from the liveliness that was her mother.

"Alexandra Vause don't 'ugh' at me. This is a celebration for me as much as it is you, I managed to keep you alive for 21 years." Alex heard her mum laugh and she smiled slightly.

"Why'd you ring so early?"

"Allie, love, it's gone 12. This is my lunch break. You're meant to be coming to the flat in less than two hours" It was obvious, even in Alex's half awake state, that Diane was trying to refrain from laughing again.

" _Ugh_." She moaned again "You better have made me a cake"

"You bet your ass, kid"

With that, the phone shut off and Alex set off in search of food. Knowing that Piper would be enjoying school on this fine November Thursday, she skipped on getting dressed and simply grabbed her dressing gown as she was heading out of the door.

Surprised, Alex was taken aback when she noticed a full cooked breakfast was waiting for her on the kitchen counter. Piper must've really felt guilt about the day before. Deciding that birthday calories really didn't matter, she grabbed the plate and tucked in to the now lukewarm meal.

* * *

After Piper had arrived home from school and Alex had seen her mum, Piper had insisted that Alex was to stick a candle in a slice of cake that Diane had sent her home with and sing happy birthday to her.

Eating her own slice of cake, licking the icing smeared on her finger, Piper asked: "So, what'd you wish for?"

Alex nearly choked on her cake then. She was already hyper aware of what Piper's mouth was doing "I'm not telling you that" Knowing full well that she could most certainly _not_ tell Piper the nature of her wish.

"Come on, I can keep a secret!" The blonde grinned, shuffling forwards as she did last night to try and coax an idea out of the older woman.

Alex merely shoved Piper backwards and mumbled "Shut up"

"Is it about your girlfriend?" Piper knew how defensive Alex got about the shorter brunette.

"No" Alex laughed, remembering she hadn't even told Piper of the _Hannah_ _Situation_ as she was dubbing it "She broke it off"

The younger blonde's face washed over with evident guilt "Oh God, Al, I'm so sorry. I didn't know, honestly, I'm-"

The brunette again cut her off with a laugh. As much as she found Piper's rambling cute she didn't want to pain the girl any further "It's fine. She was an ass"

Piper nodded but still didn't seem convinced.

"Anyway, I'm meeting a few friends for drinks later. And seen as I'm officially legal I'm not even breaking the law" Alex rose again, her signature cocky smirk plastered on her face. The one that had always made Piper's stomach do summersaults. The blonde shook her head as Alex patted her boney knee in passing her to the bedroom.

She was going to have to do a lot of homework to take her mind off of Alex once she emerged half an hour later; in a tight dress that showed far too much cleavage to be considered appropriate for anything and her hair pinned and curled, Alex made her way out of the door as if she didn't just render Piper speechless.

A _lot_ of homework.

* * *

As it turned out, however, by the time the clock was nearing 12 Piper's once seemingly endless supply of homework and been read, written and sketched and the blonde was still perfectly alone in the apartment.

She had taken to do a full clean of the apartment, as Alex had a tendency to leave her clothes wherever she saw fit on her way to bed after particularly long shifts, and had dusted the entire place twice by 1 am.

It wasn't until 2 am when Alex staggered through the door.

"Pi- _per_!" Alex rang out in a sing-song voice.

"Al?"

"There you are" She almost whispered, deep and husky that did things to Piper that she'd never intend to admit for as long she lived.

"Al, are you okay?" Her pupils were dilated and she was swaying more than if she was drunk.

Alex giggled in response, full on giggled. She covered her face and grinned at the blonde "I'm fan-fucking-tastic my little WASP" She announced lunging forward and roughly pulling Piper's thin frame in for a hug.

It was then that it hit her "You're high" Piper stated.

"As a fucking kite." Alex then released one arm from her vice like grip on Piper and raised one finger to the others lips "Shh, don't tell" She smirked clumsily.

Piper could help but grin too at the older woman's innocence in the current situation. "Come on, let's get you to bed, yeah? I have school in the morning"

Piper took Alex's hand and lead her like a child to her room.

Once the two were inside Alex pulled the dress over her head and announced "Sleep with me"

The blonde almost gave herself whiplash spinning around to meet the green gaze burning holes in to her.

"It's tradition. I've had a hot girl in my bed every year since I was 18." Alex grinned, climbing with legs seemingly too long for her on to the top of her bed.

"And I'm that ' _hot_ _girl_ ' this year?" Piper's eyebrows were in her hairline in disbelief.

Alex grinned with a nod and held out her hand towards the blonde. Hesitantly, Piper took it only to be instantly pulled forward into the brunettes pale, broad shoulders. "You can be my little spoon" She whispered in to Piper's ear. That was usually reserved for when one of them had a truly terrible day but the younger girl gladly took the chance and curled up and tucked her body in to Alex's longer form.

Alex was idly playing with the blonde hair as she so often did when she mumbled "I love you"

Piper smiled, knowing Alex couldn't see her face "I know you, the Great Alex Vause loves nobody"

"I love you," she repeated, louder this time "And not just because I'm high" Pause "Maybe a little bit more because I'm high but I definitely do"

It was a rare time when Alex ever got caught in a ramble. It was much more Piper's thing "I love you too, you stoned idiot. Now go to sleep"

The blonde felt Alex nod behind her, and as she made no more indications of life other than pinning Piper's body against her own, Piper assumed she'd fallen asleep. She too followed suit soon after.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

 **First and foremost, I would like to apologise to all Australians reading this chapter. But to be quite honest I'm not too sure Aussie's are capable of being offended and to be frank, you lot have Rose Byrne and Ruby Rose so you deserve to be taken down a few pegs!**

 **I'd like to address to the kind guest reviewer who was concerned that I was beating myself up over reviews, I can assure you that if I am ever to state the actual number of reviews in a note I'm defiantly bragging about it (i.e. 23 on the last chapter!) but that you for your concern, it was very sweet of you. Thank you for all the other reviews, follows, favourites and reads too! Every one I truly appreciate!**

 **If you feel so inclined, please leave a review on what you thought of this chapter, ways I could improve or ideas for the future chapter! -E**


	11. Chapter 10

**Ages 21 and 17**

Alex phone rang out for what must've been the seventh time in the hour.

She was working overtime but this man was offering an extra £50 an hour so who was she to deny him of this tattoo? Having finally finished her work, she cocked her head to get a better look at the flaming motorcycle this poor bastard was so desperate to have inked before covering the work in plastic wrap and taking her payment from the man.

It was on the eighth text chime that she finally looked at the phone. Swiping across the screen she read _**Pipes (8)**_. Tapping on the icon she scrolled through the messages.

 ** _\- Hi Al. Do you want to come out with me and Polly? x_**

 ** _\- I'll tell her to behave x_**

 ** _\- Please, shes_** **_gone off with some guy xx_**

 ** _\- Ugh Alex please, Dingo Fucker's here too_**

 ** _\- I hate you you asshole, I had to talk to her_**

 ** _\- Im dying_**

 ** _\- Okay, im not, sorry. Please answer. im lonely_**

 ** _\- Alex? ? x_**

Smirking to herself at the thought that Piper had to put up with Stella with how things ended between them, mainly that Piper got her expelled from school for a week because she'd had the balls to spraypaint _'STELLA'_ in block capitals and neon green on the school hallway after Piper found the girl had been stealing from her and Alex. The brunette quickly called Piper, deciding it'd be easier talking to the blonde rather than trying to reason with her over text when she'd definitely be drunk by now. It took approximately three seconds for Piper to pick up.

"Hey, Kid"

"Al!" Despite just answering the phone, Piper seemed surprised to hear her.

Alex smiled. She really could do with going to bed, with it nearing midnight and to be alive by noon tomorrow she should've hit the hay an hour ago.

"Alex?" The blonde quiet voice broke her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm here. You want me to pick you up?"

"I was thinking maybe you could come over?" Her voice was laced with uncertainty. It baffled her that after knowing Alex literally her entire life she could still be uncertain around her.

"Hm, what's in it for me?" No harm in teasing the blonde a little, right? She was going out of her way to help her after all.

"I'll do laundry for a week" Alex smiled at Piper's rushed tone "And I'll try making dinner" She laughed slightly at that, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle it. "What? I can cook?"

"Piper, you burnt spaghetti the last time I let you cook"

Piper huffed "How was I supposed to know you can't cook it in a frying pan with sauce? Your mother never taught me how!"

"It's that girl's house that lives near Nicky you're at, right?" The brunette asked, searching under a few of Piper's books for the keys to her motorbike.

"Mhm" She often hated how much so the WASPy blonde had her wrapped around her finger, but Alex knew full well that she relied on Piper almost as much as Piper relied on her and she was technically the adult in the situation. Giving up on the keys she threw the nearest book back on to the coffee table.

"I'll be there in half an hour"

* * *

Alex arrived at the large house after a brisk two-mile walk over. The house practically radiated 'teen party', with beer cans strewn about the front lawn and loud tacky dance music. Taking a deep breath, she made her way in to find Piper.

By the time Alex had arrived Polly had returned with her makeup much more smudged and her hair much messier and had convinced Piper to stop moping about waiting for _Supercunt._ Polly's idea of the was getting the taller blonde more intoxicated and forcing her to talk to neighbor boy _Alex,_ and the shorter, well-built teenager with mousy brown hair was not the Alex she wanted to talk to.

Sipping from her can idly and watching the door like a hawk for a particular brunette, Piper was completely oblivious to everything _Alex_ was saying. She was vaguely aware that Polly had left with Stella's brother, Pete, again but she couldn't for the life of her tell you what the boy in front of her was talking about.

It only registered in her mind that he was still there when he slapped her beer out of her hand and pushed her against the wall.

Piper let out a sound of surprise and protest but over the pounding music, it was silent.

Clearly taking her reaction as an encouragement to boy leaned forward and kissed her harshly, pinning her shoulder back with one hand and snaking his other towards the hem of her regrettably revealing shirt. The blonde pushed at his shoulders he didn't slow his actions. _Why wasn't anyone helping her here?_ Panicked as _Alex_ groped her through her bra she looked over his head for any sign of help. The room was dimly lit and there were few people left in the large room. Suddenly a dark figure was visible in the doorway and Piper heart filled with hope and joy. She'd never been so thankful to see the familiar silhouette.

"Alex!"

The boy in front of her sneered and bit roughly at her lip "Yeah, scream my na-" The boy was all of a sudden pulled away.

 _Her_ Alex was stood in front of the boy. She stood a good few inches taller than him and Alex knew by how panicked Piper had sounded this kid was bad news "The fuck do you think you're doing?" She asked over the loud music. Her voice more raspy than usual due to her lack of sleep.

The boy was infuriated "Listen, you fucking giant-"

Piper promptly put her newly formulated plan in to action "Al, babe" Both Alex's snapped their heads towards the blondes. The boy looked smug whilst the brunette had one eyebrow raised imperceptibly so so that to someone who didn't know her well her expression would seem indifferent. Piper had her eyes locked on to the grey-green ones she knew well. She swallowed her pride and got back to her plan

"You're late" Piper moved closer to the taller girl and curled her arm around the back of her neck. Alex stood in complete and utter confusion while the other Alex was being completely ignored. Piper closed her eyes and kissed Alex somewhat tentatively, just hoping she didn't slap her. To Piper's complete and utter shock, the brunette caught on pretty fast and moved from standing rigid and wide-eyed at the girl to raising her hands up in to Piper's hair, tugging slightly for effect, to which Piper moaned slightly, just for effect, as Alex deepened the kiss. Smiling slightly as she felt Piper's small gasp when she ran her tongue across her lips, asking for entrance. Sure, it wasn't strictly essential for the show but it added to the impression, right?

Time seemingly halted for the pair as when they pulled apart what could've been minutes or seconds later, both were out of breath and had their eyes locked on to one another. The green never leaving blue.

The Piper rested her forehead against Alex's own and closed her eyes, causing the brunette to smirk widely. She was glad she had this influence on the blonde. It severed her right after all she'd put her through.

Purely for effect and realism, Alex quickly leaned in and captured Piper's reddened lips in a quick peck. "Miss me much, Pipes?" Piper scoffed. She could tell just by her voice Alex thought she was ten men for this.

She opened her eyes and pulled away, nodding.

"Shit" _That_ Alex. Piper had almost forgotten about him "Fancy a threesome?" Piper abruptly felt protective over her Alex and she didn't like how this kid was looking over her like she was an object.

"Oh my God, fuck off!" Piper snapped.

Alex smirked while the other one seemed to get the idea and started to head away in search of fresh meat. "Fuckin' dykes"

As soon as he was out of earshot both girls shared a look before doubling over in laughter.

"I have to hand it to you, Piper, I wouldn't've thought you had it in you!" Alex nudged her with her shoulder, raising her glasses to the top of her head to wipe her eyes, careful not to smudge her eyeliner.

The blonde, now over her adrenalin and alcohol high, Smiled widely but blushed a deep red that she desperately hoped wasn't visible in the low light of the room.

"So, we still staying?" The brunette asked, unable to wipe the smirk off of her face. She had kissed Piper. Her Piper. It should've felt _so_ remarkably wrong, she was like a sister to her. But Alex was decidedly smitten with the girl as this didn't even make a difference to her. Not that she'd tell her that. She still needed to seem somewhat badass to the general population of New York.

Piper nodded eagerly and grabbed the pale hand that was previously tucked away inside Alex's jean pocket "Of course, there's free beer"

With that, Piper pulled Alex off like a small child would a parent in a sweet shop. Alex laughed at her seemingly juxtaposed innocence and followed shorter girl with long strides.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I'm sorry for the faulty update earlier on today. I had major problems trying to get the chapter to update and then my computer died and ate my files so I had to rewrite it up . The basic plot of the chapter has remained the same but it's completely reworded. Thank you to those whom PMed me or left a review informing me that it couldn't actually be read, I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Anyway, I'm so sorry for any confusion I may have caused. It's a true talent of mine.**

 **I'm both honoured and confused as to why anybody likes this story and I'm still extremely grateful for any and all response to this story. You guys (and Vausman, Orange is the New Black, Jenji Kohan, etc.) are great!**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read this update (which actually has updated for real this time if you're reading this!) and please leave a review on your thoughts on the chapter, ways I could improve or possibly ideas for future chapters! - E**


	12. Chapter 11

**Ages 22 and 18**

After their kiss, Piper and Alex began treating each other a little different. They lay somewhere above the level friendship but not quite enough to be more than that. There were repeat performances and the occasional heavy petting but that usually involved alcohol and neither party mentioned it the day after. Another thing that made them start regarding each other differently was once Piper had graduated high school, with straight As, of course, Celeste Chapman had made a reappearance and even though she was always rather accepting of Alex, her clear upper-middle-class air had put Alex on edge. But she was glad Piper had some family. Her grandmother even was paying for college for the girl once she got in to Smith to study Literature.

But these things were possibly the furthest from her mind as she sat staring at the white wall in front of her, the new iPhone 5 resting lamely in her limp hand.

"Are you off the phone now? It wasn't in the bathroom, either." Piper must've called from the next room. Alex couldn't tell where she was in the small flat if you asked her, though.

"Did you look at all while I was out? Alex, I understand you're upset, but could you at least acknowledge I'm a person who is speaking? If I miss this flight I'm screwed. My lectures start tomorrow!" Piper was panicking, ruffling a hand through her hair as she continued to look under various surfaces for the item. "Alex! Passport! Hello?" Piper huffed, looking over to the brunette with recently dyed blue tips.

"My mom has cancer" Alex mumbled, not ready to look away from the spec on the white wall.

Piper froze "What?"

The hospital just called up. She collapsed at work, this morning, I guess"

"Oh, Alex" Piper's own eyes filled with tears at the thought of Diane alone in a hospital. She quickly walked over to where the older woman was sat on the bed. "I'm so sorry"

"My first instinct was to call her to talk about it" Alex began to break down now, letting out a silent sob at the thought of her mother in pain.

Piper was suddenly aware that she was in the position Alex usually was, only Alex's situation was so much worse. The blonde reached over and gently cupped Alex's pale cheek and wiped away a stray tear before pulling her flush against her. Piper could feel Alex's broad shoulders rack with sobs and it broke her heart.

After a few minutes, Alex pulled away but remained sat close to the younger girl "It's stage four" She muttered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand

"What can I do, Al?" Piper asked, blue eyes locking with green watery ones.

"I don't know" Alex paused "I mean, I need to get money. She's sick so she can't keep her jobs. I need to figure out a way to pay for the bills because there's no one else to do it" Alex stood ad messily combed her fingers through her hair.

"Okay" Piper paled somewhat at her realisation "Al, I still have to go."

"What?"

"I am so _so_ sorry about Diane, she doesn't deserve this" Alex face portrayed something akin to betrayal "She could be fine though" The blonde added.

"You're still leaving?" Alex's voice was laced with sadness.

"I have to get on the flight to Coneticuit and go to college, Al"

Alex rubbed the ball of her palms against her eyes "Top drawer, underneath my T-shirts." She sighed

"Jesus, Alex! You fucking hid it?" Piper leapt up from the bed and went through the T-shirts until she found the file. Please don't leave.

"Please don't leave" Piper had never in her life seen Alex look so broken. Not when she had first met her dad, not when her first girlfriend left her for a jock a year older than her, not even when Alex nearly was taken away from her mother due to money issues.

"Al..." Piper sighed, stepping towards the girl. Green, reddened eyes were trained on her every move. "I have to. I'll call you as soon as I land. I can't help you now anyway"

Alex nodded, defeated. Her head was spinning at a million miles an hour.

Piper did what she found harder than leaving her own family, she left Alex when she needed her.

* * *

It wasn't until 2 days later when Alex could finally tell Piper good news. Her mum was finally awake and she could go and see her. The well lit sterile atmosphere of the hospital always made Alex uncomfortable but she put up with it just to see her mother. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed how ill, pale, her mother looked. She was too self-absorbed in her own little bubble. When her mum had told her how much the operation would cost without health insurance Alex had insisted she pay for it all. And that Diane wasn't to keep overworking herself.

Alone again in her once small apartment, Alex hovered over the number she saved without the intention of ever using. _Fahri_.

The tattooing business paid well but only enough to get by on her own. She didn't have any qualifications. In her mind, there was no other way to make up such a paycheck in such a short time.

She hit call.

He picked up after the second ring.

"Hello... It's Alex, from the Death Maiden show" Maybe he'd changed his number. She could back out then.

"Ah, you're Burley's girl. He was a good client" Definitely Fahri.

"Was?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah. ODed a few years back"

"Oh" What was she supposed to say to that? She didn't even know the man.

"You finally interested then?"

Alex paused. No going back after this "Yeah" She answered with a fake air of confidence.

"You start tomorrow. We pay you ten thousand up front if you get the job done, we're desperate."

That would cover at least a few surgeries. Then she wouldn't need to do many more jobs.

"I'll text you the address. Bring your passport"

He hung up and Alex felt numb. Deciding the day was done, what with seeing her mum so sick, hearing about how great everything was for Piper and her new crush which she was entirely jealous of, and finding out her father overdosed with the product she was now going to be afflicted with.

She threw her phone against the sofa. It landed with a soft thud against the completely ridiculous flowery pillow Piper had insisted upon buying.

Alex made her way to bed without getting changed or brushing her teeth and welcomed the bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I apologise profusely for the filler chapter and the fact that it was on the shorter. Don't fret, though, I have great (longer) plans.**

 **Thank you for being so kind about my mishaps with the last chapter and still reading this story!**

 **Please leave a review telling me how much you hate me for this chapter, other thoughts on the story, ways I could improve or even ideas or concepts for future chapters!**

 **Thank you for reading - E**


	13. Chapter 12

**Ages 23 and 19**

Alex was seeing Piper for the first time in almost a year. Piper was finished with school for the holidays and, filled with something akin to Christmas spirit, Kubra had even let Alex take a couple of days off. Her work with the cartel was getting to her. Don't get her wrong, she loved the power and control it gave her as well as being able to take care of her mother with the finest facilities with money left over, but the looming threat of real life was always present and just a step behind her. Alex, in her year working for Kubra, had already seen a man die and a mule be beaten to an almost unrecognisable mess for sneaking off with five grand's worth of heroine.

As it turned out, Nicky also bought from the cartel quite regular so the two childhood friends had again become closer, often going to parties and getting so off their faces on various amounts of illegal substances that they couldn't remember their own names, never mind what was going on outside the nightclub. Which was how Alex met her current 'girlfriend', as Sylvie put it. Alex personally thought she was crazy, but luckily for Alex, she was in bed too. That was the main reason Alex hadn't sent her packing after she had used her a mule.

But as the brunette made her way through the campus to the student accommodation dorms, she felt strangely out of her depths and childlike. She was surrounded by old red brick and kids that were most likely going on to be lawyers and journalists and every other mind numbing job you could think of.

Rounding the corner as the small overhead sign had instructed her, Alex finally found the correct dorm block after what must've been an hour since she first landed.

Alex neared the dorm number Piper had texted her earlier and knocked awkwardly. She felt very out of place and estranged. This was the longest in years she'd gone without seeing the WASPy blonde.

"Fuck off, Larry!" Came a muffled shout from behind the door.

Confused, the brunette tried again. Knocking three times.

Soft padding could be heard echoing through the small corridor where Alex stood. The door was quickly pulled open by a blonde rubbing her eyes, clad in only boyshorts and an oversized t-shirt she was fairly certain was, in fact, Alex's at one point.

"Larry, for the last time, I don't want to go to the damn concert with yo- Alex!" The brunette smirked slightly at the sight of her. She knew full well the blonde couldn't handle her drink well, and judging by how her hair hung in almost dreadlocks, presumably matted by alcohol, her bloodshot eyes and distinctive look of hatred for the world, Piper had defiantly drunk too much last night.

"Rough night?" Alex offered, feeling the most lighthearted she had in months.

"Can you tell?" The blonde sighed and rubbed her temple "Come in" She offered. She had completely forgotten it was today Alex was visiting.

Alex made her way in to Piper's dorm room somewhat awkwardly and sat down on the blonde's bed cross-legged.

"Are you still showing me around or are you bedridden?" Alex asked, looking around at Piper's temporary home. The room its self was a little smaller than the girl's original childhood bedroom but larger than her old room in Alex's apparent. It wasn't until now that Alex felt a little guilty for considering moving in to a better flat without informing Piper. The girl still technically lived there until she bought her own place.

Piper sat down next to Alex, falling back to lay on the duvet. "Give me an hour"

Alex smiled and nudged the girl with her elbow "You sure about that?"

Piper nodded, happy to see Alex in such a contrasting mood to when she'd left her last. She still felt a little guilty for leaving Alex like that, when she needed her so much. She had cried and repeated phrases such as ' _I'm so, so sorry_ ' and _'I'm an asshole_ ' for an hour straight once her plane had landed but even now she still felt like she had been a little unnecessarily selfish and cruel. The blonde then held up a hand, which the brunette quickly took to pull her up.

The blonde then held up a hand, which the brunette promptly took to pull her up in to a more dignified sitting position.

"How's Diane?" Alex knew full well things weren't looking good for her mother. She was doing better than originally anticipated but three surgeries down the line and the poor woman was still cancer ridden. Sensing she'd said something wrong, Piper panicked. "That's stupid. I know the answer to that. Is she happy? The blonde then rephrased, hoping to not panic the older girl.

"As content as she can be, given the _really_ shitty situation" Alex sighed. Piper reached out to Alex's left hand and idly draw her thumb over the palm as she used to do when she was younger. Alex smiled at the familiar notion.

"She's gonna kick my ass for not seeing her in so long" Piper sighed, causing Alex to smirk. The pair both knew it was the truth.

What surprised Piper next was Alex's sniggering "What?" Piper asked, alarmed.

Alex shook her head and reached around to the back of Piper's, pulling a bottle top out of the matted locks.

"Bud Light? Piper Chapman, I thought I taught you to have standards" Alex said in a mock offended tone.

"I can't even remember drinking that" Piper declared truthfully.

"When'd you get the tattoo?" Alex was now leaning around the back of Piper. The small fish wasn't _bad,_ per se, the colour could do with a little work.

It suddenly registered in the blonde's what Alex had just said and she span around so fast she simultaneously nearly headbutted Alex and cracked her neck. "What?"

Alex raised an eyebrow and pushed her glasses frames up a little before pointing towards Piper's neck."The fish"

"What!" Piper bolted upright and practically ran to the bathroom mirror.

"Oh god!" Alex heard, causing her to shake her head in disbelief. Of course Piper would get her first tattoo with absolutely no recognition of how she came to get it.

Around two minutes later Piper reemerged, looking confused but less so than she originally did. "I think it's one of those fish we saw that time in the sea, you know?" Alex and Piper had only visited the beach together a total of two times, mainly due to Alex not being entirely convinced she would be able to keep her hands to herself for many more trips. It was a particular school of fish from their second trip when scuba diving that Piper had loved.

Alex nodded with a smile and Piper, satisfied with the answer, spoke up again "I'll take shower. Do what you want for 15 minutes." Piper was just about to close the door when she called out again "And can you pick me out something to wear?"

The brunette looked towards the stack of drawers sat facing her at the opposite side of the room. To distract herself from the fact that Piper was wet and naked in the on suite, she made her way over to the dresser.

Rifling through the drawers, Alex decided upon a black and white striped, long sleeved t-shirt and jeans. Did she want underwear too? It wasn't like Alex was a stranger to other women's underwear, hell she'd seen Piper in a nappy for fuck's sake, but she felt intrusive going through the girl's underwear. The brunette's mind flickered towards her own drawer that contained items that she definitely wouldn't be comfortable with Piper seeing. Biting the bullet, so to speak, she reached her hand in to the final drawer and pulled out the first bra and pants she found.

She folded the small pile and decided to aimless play on the few game apps on her phone that were usually reserved for delayed flights.

Within half an hour, Alex was 10% down on her battery and Piper was finally dressed, deciding to forgo makeup seen as Alex had already seen the worst of her hangover.

* * *

"You planning on ever telling me where we're going, kid?"

Piper merely tugged Alex's hand further "Shut up, we're nearly there"

Alex phone vibrated against her jeans back pocket. Guessing it was just Sylvie, she ignored it.

The pair neared what appeared to be a very small cafe, complete with dark varnished wood and warm candlelit light inside.

"You made me walk all this way for a crumby little cafe?" Alex inquired with her signature eyebrow raise.

Piper grinned widely, despite her headache, and continued in to the cafe.

It was safe to say that Alex did not expect the space to continue so far back and every wall to be lined with large bookcases, filled to the brim with varying aged books as well as bean bags strewn across the room. The long cafe was occupied by less than ten people and the entire situation seemed more like a scene from a Harry Potter book than real life. Piper smiled with pride at Alex's speechlessness.

"Get us a seat then, Vause. I'll get us coffee" Alex nodded as Piper headed off towards the cashier. The brunette walked over to the closest bookshelf and read the titles. They varied from Dickens's _Great Expectations_ to Ransom Riggs's _M_ _iss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children._ Plucking one at random, she sat at one of the bean bags, pulling another over with one swift movement of her long leg.

Piper came over shortly after with two large mugs of steaming coffee. Alex was never more grateful, either.

The two settled in comfortable conversation. Talking about family and friends and Alex's stupid landlord and finally jobs. Piper said she'd landed a waitressing job that was helping her pay rent and was shocked when Alex informed her she quit the tattoo studio.

"What'd you do now?" Piper asked before gulping down the hot coffee.

"I work for an international drug cartel" Alex said simply. No point in shielding her from the truth.

Piper let out a laugh before looking in to Alex's green-grey eyes and seeing no hint of humor "What? Really?" Piper paled and was wide eyed. Maybe she'd heard wrong.

"Yeah," Alex swallowed. Her novel was long since discarded now, resting underneath her empty mug on the floor. She and Piper were practically knee to knee. "It pays well"

It seemed to dawn on Piper when Alex had actually taken up the job "Oh, Al" Piper sighed.

Alex shook her head "It's not like I can do much else. Plus I get to see the world" Alex laughed slightly, nervous.

"Isn't it dangerous?" Piper looked legitimately scared for her.

"Of course. But I'm careful" Piper didn't look convinced. The brunette fidgeted with her glasses before adding "Honestly Pipes, I'll be fine. Leave it"

And to Alex's utmost surprise, she didn't and the conversation continued right up until the pair had consumed a grand total of eight coffee's between them. Once outside the small bookshop, the sun was beginning to set and the cold was creeping in. Alex wrapped her leather jacket tighter around her body as they stepped out in to the real world.

"I missed this" Alex heard besides her.

"Hm?" The older girl asked, not quite grasping what the shorter woman was referring to.

"Us" The blonde stated, smiling slightly as she locked eyes with Alex.

"We're inevitable, kid. Once you have a connection with someone, it never really goes away, you know?" Piper just looked confused, her forehead creased up slightly how she always did when she didn't understand something but didn't want to say "You just snap back to being important to each other because you still are"

Piper smiled widely and leant up on tiptoes to kiss Alex's pale cheek. The brunette felt her face heat up and she was thankful she could blame the temperature change on the cold.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Pipes" Alex said with a rare true smile faintly ghosting her full lips that she couldn't get rid of "And be ready this time"

"Will do" Piper answered, walking away backwards facing Alex, flashing her one last smile before heading off back in the direction they just came.

Alex hollered a cab to her hotel room and smiled alone in bed for the first time in months. She was actually looking forward to the future.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Thank you again for reading! There's some hidden innuendos and references in there so if you get then, bonus points to you.**

 **Also, to Luveverythingtv, I've never actually stepped foot on a university or college campus so I didn't know the first week was just syllabus stuff. To the Guest reviewer who said they can't wait to find out what happens next chapter, me too man! My plans tend to change a lot as I'm writing.**

 **As always, please leave a review on what you thought of this chapter, ways I can improve my writing or ideas for the future! - E**


	14. Chapter 13

**Ages 24 and 19**

As it turned out, Alex's trip to see Piper had to be cut short. Not because the pair had an argument or because they did something to make it awkward or even because Alex had to go back to work, but because when Alex had awoken the next day to four missed calls from her aunt and two from the hospital.

The day that was originally planned to familiarise Piper and Alex with each other was spent with Alex getting on the next flight home, hoping her mother was finished with the lung surgery. She knew with lung aneurysms you had to act fast, which left her spending three days straight at the hospital.

By the time Alex had finally got around to calling Piper back, like she had promised, it was almost a week later. Between the stress of work and her mother's illness and moving apartments and Sylvie's evergrowing neediness Alex was stretched thin as it was; but since Nichols was badgering on at her about going out for more than just work, she had decided her and a few non-work friends - as per Nicky's request - were going out for her birthday to a burlesque show that one of her first girlfriend's, Rachel, was in so they could get in cheap.

Holding the phone against her ear, Alex breathed in deeply. Why did it feel so strange talking to Piper over the phone nowadays?

"Hey!" Piper sang through the speaker. Of course Piper would be overly happy to hear from her, she always was.

"Hey, kid" Alex said with a small smile. Hearing Piper was always a comforting thing to her. She was like her safety blanket.

"Al? Are you okay? Is your mum okay? Oh, God, it's Diane, isn't it? What happen-"

"Pipes cool it" Alex chuckled softly at the blondes insistent rambling "She's okay. I just wanted to talk"

"Okay... Sorry"

"Kid, it's fine. I'm used to it"

There was a pause where neither of the two spoke. The faint sound of breathing for either side of the line was all that could be heard.

"Nicky and some of my friends are going out for my birthday, you should come" Alex announced faster than she intended. _Smooth, Vause._

"Sure!" Alex practically could hear the smile in her voice "Polly's home for Christmas break anyway, it'd be good to see her"

Not that she said anything, but this stung Alex a small bit. Not that she understood why. It wasn't like she had anything to be jealous of. Or be jealous for.

* * *

By 10 O'clock, Alex was finally bar was loud and the drinks were free flowing and seeing how awkward Nichols was making some poor blonde made her feel better about her current predicament.

The brunette looked up at the opening door to see another fumbling blonde and Holly, with hair that looked significantly more red since the last time they spoke, which made Alex let out a quiet chuckle as she looked down to her own dyed hair.

Alex was feeling more confident that usual, down to a cocktail of shots and the fact that she _knew_ she looked good, with her hair lightly curled and pinned back with the black and white dress she knew accented her body _very_ well _._

"Hey, Laura Ingalls Wilder" She called out with a smirk.

As the new pair started walking over Piper instantly looked over to the familiar voice as a smile plastered her face.

The shorter of the two, however, wasn't as happy "Sorry?" Polly asked, walking over to the table.

Alex raised one perfectly arched eyebrow whilst a couple from the table sniggered.

In an attempt to save her friend, Piper grabbed Polly by the arm, causing her to unfold them. "Pol, this is Alex"

" _Supercunt_?" The red head asked exasperatedly.

"Cute nickname" Alex snarked with a smile, knocking back another shot.

In doing this, Piper couldn't help but notice the pale column of the brunette's neck. How the colour contrasted sharply with her dark hair. And how much she still wanted to kiss at her neck. And how she really shouldn't be thinking that, as she watched as Alex swallowed the alcohol. Feeling her face heat up a little, Piper shook her head.

"Pol, go make friends. I'll catch up with you later" And with the shorter girl made her way out in to the crowd, knowing she'd have no trouble making _friends_.

Piper held out her hand to Alex, a smirk evident on her own face. "Come get me a drink"

"It's my birthday, kid"

"I'm not old enough"

Alex shook her head, taking Piper's hand and pulling herself up.

"I'll pay for yours too to compensate" The blonde declared, not letting go of Alex's hand. She was so happy just to be with Alex again, not worrying about anything else around them.

Their conversation lasted at least two drinks too long at the bar and Alex's mind was starting to drift over to _other_ places. The brunette admired the curve of her neck, the way her forehead scrunched slightly when she didn't understand something, the way her smile made Alex forget there was any bad in the world. She had a knack for that, Piper did. Making Alex forget. Which was what she would argue later when she did something she knew was incredibly impulsive and could go direly wrong even in her alcohol-addled mind.

She leant over the stool, extending one pale arm over the blonde's should and messily grabbing a handful of hair at the nape of her neck, and kissed her.

Seconds ticked by as Piper remained frozen. Alex was just pulling away, already starting to mumble an apology by the time she became unstatic. Piper's hands framed the older girls jaw as she pulled her back in and silenced her with another kiss, tracing her lips with her tongue, begging for entrance.

Alex wasn't sure why, but once the pair pulled apart for air, after profusely damning her lung capacity, she felt it was different. Resting their foreheads against each other, the pair didn't say anything, just looked. Emerald locked to sapphire. Alex was grinning broadly, trying to pass it off as a smirk, whilst Piper was fighting with her emotions. _She had a boyfriend for fuck's sake._

 _"_ You're _still_ bad a that" Alex breathed with the same look on her face and Piper was already won over.

"Take me home" She knew she wasn't drunk enough for this. She didn't care.

"Okay" Alex grinned, not even giving a second thought to the sheer volume of unpacked boxes in her new, much larger apartment.

The brunette pulled Piper from the chair by the hand and made her way towards the exit with her, ignoring the calls of _"Hey, Stretch!"_ from Nicky echoing somewhere behind them.

* * *

It wasn't until Alex's tight dress was bunched up towards the top of her legs and waist while Piper was left in her bare lacey bra and underwear that the two hand a coherent conversation.

They were on the brunette's makeshift bed, that was actually just a mattress, with Piper pinned securely under Alex's long limbs when the older girl broke away from the blondes slightly tanned neck. She smirked at the darker patch there before continuing her speech.

"Pipes, what's wrong?" Alex asked, still on top of the girl but leaning on her hands to give her room.

Piper stroked falling strands of dark hair behind the brunette's ear. Of course Alex would notice something was wrong, even whilst they were practically having sex. Piper looked up in to Alex's eyes, unshielded from the lack of glasses, and saw the concern there.

"I have a boyfriend"

Alex sat up, still straddling the shorter girl's legs. Piper followed cue shortly after and sat up impossibly close to Alex.

"He wants me to marry him. I don't want us to ruin our friendship" Piper felt sick. Was she ruining it now?

"Kid, it's your life, live it. But I know I've known you since you were fresh out," She smiled at the small chuckle she got from the girl, then "And I think we're stuck with each other now"

"Al?"

"Hm..."

"Take off your dress" She smirked, shimmying slightly to help the older girl as she effortlessly pulled the item over her shoulders, exposing lean pale skin in the moonlight.

In that moment Piper knew what she wanted. She wanted Alex. But she wanted to make sure Alex wanted her without the alcohol. And without the job she had. And somewhere other than a matress in an unfinished kitchen.

"When we're sober, yeah?" Piper leant up to capture Alex in a kiss, making the brunette elicit a noise that almost made Piper forget her previous statement.

"Pipes, c'mon, I'm a grown up" Alex whined. Talk about leaving her high and dry.

The blonde eyed her raven-haired companion "I can see that, Al"

Alex pushed at the blonde's shoulder, smirking and moved her leg from over her, settling by her side.

Piper shuffled over to face the brunette, and despite the cold November air, felt a rush of heat throughout her body.

Alex was playing absentmindedly with Piper's hair as she did as a child while Piper just watched Alex. Why was she even with Larry? He didn't care, not like Alex did. She knew Alex did see her as more than a younger sibling type figure too judging by how she was pulling and pushing on Piper only minutes before.

There was a long bout of comfortable silence that came with being so familiar with another person for Alex finally spoke again.

"I heart you" She heard Alex murmur in to the bedsheets and blonde hair.

"What's that? 'I love you' for pussies?" Smirked Piper softly, knowing full well Alex had at least 4 more drinks than her, even with her lightweight position, and that the older girl was on the verge of sleep.

Piper felt Alex nod ever so slightly before whispering almost inaudibly 'Say pussy again'

Piper rolled her eyes and shortly after heard the soft sondes of the girl next to her.

Grabbing the thick duvet, the blonde reluctantly covered Alex up, as much as she enjoyed the view she didn't feel like having the girl freeze was much of a turn on, and curled up impossibly close the taller woman's dead weight.

"Happy birthday, Alex" She murmured before too succumbing to unconsciousness.

The best present Alex got that year was the sight of Piper clad only in her underwear and an oversized Misfits band shirt armed with bacon the next morning.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Sorry for the delay and the fact that people aren't enjoying this story anymore, but thanks for getting this far and reading. Not to try and beg for your loyalty to the story but I can assure you I do plan to veer from the show's storyline and, to quote my mother, this is just a phase and it'll be more original later on.**

 **Shoutout to those who guessed the significance of the phone call. Half of the reason this is so late is because I** **couldn't get the original chapter right and turned it in to this.**

 **Thank you for sticking with me and the support from previous chapters.**

 **As always, if you feel so inclined, please do leave a review on your thoughts on this chapter or how I could improve! - E**


	15. Chapter 14

**Ages 24 and 20**

By the time Piper's second year away at university came to a close, she was quickly running out of the money her grandmother had given her and couldn't afford the increased rent for the summer break. Because of this, she was waiting outside Alex's expensive looking apartment block, trying to figure out how to get the buzzer to work. It felt eerily akin to when she was 15 and Alex had just moved out of her mother's apartment in Queens.

She'd been trying to call Alex for that last forty minutes to no avail. Apparently Alex was going to have one hell of a phone bill that month with the length of the phone.

Finally giving in and following another WASPy looking occupant inside the building,the blonde set off to the elevator.

The walls were entirely framed with mirrors, causing the space to look like a factory stocked with only college girls with long wavy, blonde hair and with outfits she could almost hear Alex or Cal making fun of.

Piper smirked at her reflection upon that thought. Alex wasn't on par with Cal or Danny or even Polly or Kate or any of her other friends. She was above them now. Ever since that night on the taller woman's birthday, they'd been different. _Good different._ Not that they'd agreed or confirmed anything between them.

 _Ding!_

An illuminated _6_ broke the blonde from her thoughts.

Swallowing she headed towards yet another door and knocked loudly.

Seconds ticked passed along with Piper's resolve. Maybe she should've just tried getting the bus to her Grandma and Gramps'.

Vaguely, before the door was pulled open, "Ma! Don't..." could be heard.

"Diane!" Piper was shocked to say the least. She's not seen the eldest Vause in quite some time. Armed with a wide smile, the blonde pulled the older woman in to a deadlock hug.

"Christ, Kid. I thought you grew out of that when you were 10" Diane chuckled, gently patting the girls back.

Piper's response was a shake of the head against the woman's shoulder.

"Piper, I get it," She knew she did too. Diane had raised her more than her own parents had. They had had money to give whereas the Vause household had love. "But you're gonna bust my other lung too at this rate"

The taller woman jumped away like she had been burnt at hearing that.

"Oh, God. Did I hurt you? Do you want to sit down? Or for me to get you something? I'll go and-" Piper sped off, wide-eyed.

"Still got that Foot-in-Mouth Disease then, Kid?"

Piper's cheeks tinted red but she wasn't deterred. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, love." Diane moved aside and ushered the girl inside "Just a bit sore after the last op. That's why I'm at Allie's"

Piper nodded. She felt immense guilt looking at the woman, who was one of whom she was most thankful for in her life. She _looked_ ill. Not as bad as someone should in her current predicament, but you could _tell_. Her bones stuck out even more than Piper's own did in some places. Her complexion managed to be whiter than her daughters and she looked tired.

The two carried on with their easy conversation when Alex finally emerged, gripping her phone so tightly the whites of her knuckles were distinctive even from the couch.

"Fucking Kubra..." She mumbled, tapping at the screen "Seen as you ignored me, who was it Mu- Piper?" Upon looking up Alex wasn't sure this was a nightmare or a dream right now. She had completely forgotten she had agreed to Piper stopping in her spare room, where her mother was staying.

"Fuck, Pipes. Hi"

"Hi" The blonde smiled back.

"My mum's stopping"

"What?"

"I'll sleep on the couch. Or I'll be out. I dunno" The brunette sighed, slumping down on the sofa.

"It's good to see you" She then offered with a small smile.l

"It's good to see you too. _Really_ good" The blonde replied with a dopey grin.

Alex smirked back before pushing her glasses up in to her hair and letting her head fall back against the back of the sofa with a sigh.

There was a pause before any of the trio spoke up again.

"Well then kids, while I'd love to stay, Piper here's squeezed the life out of me so I'm going back to bed." Diane then looked in Piper's direction "Shout me if Al threatens to feed you"

"Mum" The younger woman warns with a poorly hidden smile.

"Will do, Diane" And with that, the woman left towards the door which presumably was the room in which Piper was originally planned on staying in.

* * *

Piper and Alex spent hours just talking.

It was like they were kids again with their only worries being they had to be home before nightfall.

"And then there was the penis shaving incident" Piper had gotten changed in to a Smith baseball tee and green tartan pyjama bottoms at around 8, while Aled had just swapped her leather pants from loose shorts while Piper had continued to moan about her time away at college Alex was just happy to hear her voice "And, oh god, it was-"

"I love you" Alex stated. She was sitting cross-legged on the sofa facing the blonde.

The younger girl faltered "What?"

"I've not told you in a while. At least not when we've been sober."

Piper smiled at Alex's innocence.

"You have to say it back you know, Piper"

The girl shuffled forwards, grinning as she did, before reaching around to the back of Alex's neck and gently tugging her forwards, "I love you too"

"I didn't mean-" Alex panicked. She didn't know how relationships worked. Or their rules. Hell, Piper was one of her best friends, she didn't want her to feel pressured.

"I know" The blonde smirked before leaning in a cutting the older woman off from replying with another kiss. And another. And another. And another.

Finally, Alex broke the chain and pulled Piper up off the sofa.

At the loss of contact, the taller woman made up for it with a series of well-placed nips and kisses along Piper's jawline and the column of her throat that made her forget how to breathe.

"Al," She tried to sound authoritative but it came out more as a moan. "Your mum... And the pizza"

"God, you're hot" Alex laughed in to the spot between Piper's ear and jaw where she found the blonde made the most noise, continuing to push her hand up under the tight shirt.

"Seriously"

"She'll get it when the buzzer goes off" The brunette tugged the girl closer "Now shut up about my mum. And shut up about pizza. I have better ideas"

For the next hour, severa items of clothing down and any and all sense of innocence from childhood friendships shattered, the only words uttered between the pair were "You sure?" and "God", along with a few variations of each other's names.

* * *

"Oh, my God" Piper breathed from under Alex, still withering, as the older woman made her way up from under her blanket, wiping her mouth on her shoulder as she went.

"Horrible, wasn't it?" Alex smirked, going in to kiss the girl. She decidedly love Piper like this, lying on top of her, lips parted slightly, chest raising and falling quickly with a reddened blush flushing over her naked chest. It was _so_ different but _so_ good.

"The worst" Piper could taste herself on Alex and the feeling was foreign to her "You're really bad at that" She added with a coy smile.

Piper sat up on an elbow and rested against the headrest of the expensive wooden bed, free hand wound in Alex's dark hair.

"Can I do you?"

"You don't have to ask" Alex grinned.

"I've never really..." How could Alex make her blush after all that? She truly was a woman of many, _many_ talents.

"Gone down on a woman before?"I mean No.

"I mean," Piper's blue eyes flicked between the brunette's swollen lips and the grey-green pools taking in her every move. She loved Alex's eyes without her glasses. Not that she disapproved of Alex _with_ glasses either "No"

Alex let out a husky laugh "No wonder Dingo Fucker was always so moody"

"She said she didn't like it!" Piper laughed, trying to defend her dignity and not come off as childish or a prude."

"What kind of a lesbian are you, then?"

"The boob-touching kind"

Alex grinned again, not that the slight smile had left her face since Piper had first arrived, and kissed the blonde gently, taking her lip in between her teeth to keep up impressions as she pulled away "All right, well" She pulled the blonde impossibly closer "Are you ready to take the plunge, so to speak?"

"Are you gonna coach me through it?"

"Yeah" The older woman smirked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

And then the fucking phone rang "Shit." Alex mumbled against Piper's lips, lightly scratching her head with blunt fingernails.

"Mmm" The blonde protested as she started to pull away.

As Alex sat up she gave a full show of her broad, pale shoulders and the bright ink marring them.

"Shit. What time is it in Amsterdam?" Alex looked panicked. A complete 180 from five minutes ago. I have no idea.

"I have no idea" She couldn't even tell you what time it was in their current country if she was honest.

"Okay, um, give me a second" Alex fiddled with the phone before standing up off the bed "I'm so sorry, it's business. I'll be right back" She smirked

"Do you want a glass of water?" She called on her way to the on-suite.

"Is that a part of it? Hydration?" The blonde joked, mostly to herself, as she leant up on the bed again and picked up a blue candle idly from the bedside table.

"What the-" Suddenly someone was all over Piper, and not the person she wanted it to be or in the way she wanted it to be. The blonde, being as light as she was, was quickly tacked to the floor where a flurry of sharp hits and poorly aimed jabs hit her at every possible area.

"Alex!" The blonde called out.

"Jesus! What the fuck? Stop, Sylvie!" Alex emerged from the bathroom and pulled the smaller woman away from Piper "Stop it, Sylvie! Shit!"

"Bitch!" The shorter brunette.

"Jesus" Muttered Alex, combing her hair back with her fingers. Alex full attention was suddenly drawn to the angry red of Piper's cheek, so eerily akin to when she showed up at her last doorstep when her parents disowned her. "Shit, did she hurt you? Are you hurt, Pipes?"

"She-she attacked me" Piper stuttered.

"Are you fucking kidding?" The woman, _Sylvie,_ stepped forwards "That's my girlfriend, you _whore_."

"Come on, Sylvie" Alex tried ushering the fuming woman out. "Give me your key too"

When Alex returned, Piper looked heartbroken.

"Your girlfriend?" She asked. Her tone showing both confusion and betrayal.

"No, Piper. She was. We had a thing about a month ago. She won't leave me alone" She tried to explain.

The blonde nodded. She was naive to think she and Alex could ever work. She'd known that for years.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" Alex added, keeping her distance from Piper in an attempt to not unleash her infamous Chapman temper.

"She punched me in the face. Of course it fucking hurts" Piper mumbled, stumbling for her pyjamas.

Outside, Diane could be heard calling "Allie, that fucking Sylvia bitch is outside" while Alex returned to the bathroom, rifling through various illegal and legal substances to find the painkillers she was given when she was coming off the meds when she broke three of her toes with Nicky.

Upon reentering her bedroom, she was slightly disappointed to see Piper fully dressed again but her messy hair counteracted the feeling somewhat; just knowing why it was like that and the noises that came with its creation.

Alex handed over the painkillers, she knew Piper would end up with a wicked headache "I'll make you tea and reheat the pizza"

* * *

Once in the kitchen again, after Alex had practically skidded across the floor to throw away the spoon that she should have done before even her mother arrived earlier, the pair were sat waiting for the microwave to indicate they could eat - not that it was Alex preferred dish - and were sat on the counter-tops.

Alex kept occasionally glancing at the bin where she had hidden the spoon, hoping to a god she didn't believe in that her mother didn't question her later as to if she'd taken up burning spoons as a hobby.

"Pipes." She finally broke the silence "I'm not a shady person, you know that, right?"

The blonde nodded "Of course I do. I just - I was scared. I panicked. I didn't want you to be cheating"

"Cheating requires a girlfriend, Piper" The taller woman seized her opportunity "You asking me out?"

"I don't want to be your girlfriend" _Liar,_ Piper instantly thought "You're far too cocky, and smart, and-"

"Hot, and amazing in bed, and funny, and good at making you come, and-" Alex continued, swinging her left foot against Piper's right.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

The brunette smirked, raising on eyebrow slightly "Yes. You idiot" She grinned at the infantile phrases, matching Piper's own giddy demeanour.

The blonde practically jumped in to Alex's lap and assaulted her face with kisses just as Alex's mother walked in.

"God, you two. I'm happy for you and all but I thought you'd've slowed down by now with how loud you were" Diane deadpanned, heading for the fridge-freezer.

Piper blushed to the point where her forming bruise was almost undetectable. Alex tugged her slight frame closer and grinned as they rested their foreheads against one another, too happy in their own little bubble to care.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I'm so sorry for the delay, this was a hard one to write and it's not that I'm abandoning the story (I actually intend to add quite a bit more to it), it's just I don't have time to write up and check one chapter per week anymore so I have to just update whenever I can. I'm so sorry, really.**

 **I appreciate all of the reviews, positive and negative, as they both inspire me to make time for this story and give me things to improve upon.**

 **Anyway, I hope I didn't butcher this chapter, and if you got this far, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this installment. Please feel free to leave a review and to hope to see you next chapter! -E**


	16. Chapter 15

**Ages 25 and 21**

Alex was always inconvenient to sleep with, to say the least. An awkward tangle of long limbs and blankets, which she always insisted were strictly necessary due to her lifelong inability to get warm, the blonde had learnt the hard way.

Piper had learnt at a young age how to position herself in ways in which she could get away from the older girls straying elbows and knees. When she was 9, and started almost weekly sleeping at Diane's old flat, Piper had found that if she curled up in to a ball Alex kicked her significantly less and tended to cling to her as though she were a teddy instead. And at 17 how when the two lived together and many of their nights ended up sprawled out on the couch asleep after some terrible movie on their Netflix recommended the blonde most often crawled behind Alex to ensure she wouldn't end up on the floor at any point. But now, at 21, Piper didn't mind Alex's oblivious body sprawled across her. In fact, she enjoyed it. The way she still held that lifelong habit of tangling her legs in Pipers own, the way the taller woman laid her head, completely trusting, on the blondes own chest made her feel something completely different to the emotions associated with her childhood memories.

Piper traced the silhouette of Alex's face cast in the pale moonlight through the curtains. The way she looked so much younger asleep made the blonde smirk unintentionally, knowing full well what they'd been doing just mere hours before. But she also noticed the smaller changes in the brunette as she had aged. Like how even when asleep she still looked tired. And how her usual alabaster completion was now tinted grey, almost sickly, most of the time; while Alex kept insisting she just had a cold, Piper knew it was something more. She just hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. _Really_ hoped.

Piper wanted to ask but she wasn't sure she was ready for the answer.

Watching as Alex stirred, the blonde leant forward and planted a quick kiss in her hairline before pulling the duvet back up towards Alex's own shoulders from where it had slipped down towards her waist. While a pleasant view, Piper knew from experience the brunette would be adamant the temperatures were sub-zero and be in a mood the next day.

Feeling Alex again try to burrow her head in to Pipers chest while simultaneously pulling her in to a tight hug, the blonde smiled gently at the woman so many people thought didn't even possess the capacity to feel emotions, never mind cuddle. Content that the view wasn't changing any time soon, Piper too closed her eyes and let herself finally allow herself in to the peace and darkness of sleep.

* * *

 _Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Pipes turn off the alarm" Muttered Alex, moving so that her hair shielded her from reality.

 _"Vause!"_

The blonde turned over and rolled Alex in an attempt to get the taller girl to get the door "Alex" She warned, as the older of the pair continued gripping the pillow to her face.

Slowing joining the world of the living, Alex reached over Piper to the bedside table and grabbed blindly for her glasses. Once content she could see, the brunette flopped back down, staring at the blank ceiling with a sigh.

"Al, there's someone outside for you" Piper mumbled, stretching her arms out above her head.

"Ugh" The brunette laughed, slowing pulling herself up and out of the bed. She was met by nipping cold against her bare form as she scoured the floor for the cleanest clothes. The person outside was relentless, however.

 _"Vause open the fucking door!"_

Pulling on the black t-shirt Piper threw at her, Alex grabbed her phone, muttered a quick goodbye and was out of the door in seconds, leaving Piper tired and confused, hearing only snippets of the conversation outside.

 _"... should've been here hours ago..."_

 _"You're getting worse..."_

 _"...Kubra will fucking kill us..."_

With a grimace, Piper rubbed her temples. She loved Alex, but she needed to stop. The woman was smart, but she couldn't seem to realise that this business was ruining everything she had. Piper knew for a fact Alex hadn't seen her mother at least a month.

* * *

It was 2 days and 6 hours later when the blonde next heard from her girlfriend.

"Pipes?" The phone asked. She sounded nervous. Not like herself.

"Alex, what the fuck?" She didn't mean to be. But Piper was worried sick and the brunette didn't even try calling until now.

"Fahri's dead" There was a pause "Aydin killed him... He should've killed me" Alex could be heard holding back both her fear and tears "I don't know when I can come back"

"Where are you?" Piper was leant against the mirror of the elevator, on her way bac to the apartment from the shift at the cafe.

"Europe... Babe, I'm sorry I can't say over the phone..."

"Al," The blonde breathed deeply "I don't know if I can do this any more"

"Pipes, for fucks sake," Thousands of miles away the brunette pushed at her black frames out of nervous habit "I'm trying, okay? It costs money for you to live an apartment like ours you know"

Piper approached the matte white door of said apartment, unlocking it as Alex spoke.

"I know, I know" Piper really wished this wasn't done over the phone "Just," She paused "Maybe I'll go and stop with family for a while... Danny's or my Grandmother's. Or Polly's, she has a place with that guy she was dating. Pete? You rememb-"

"Pipes-"

"Alex I love you but I think maybe you need time to work out what's important to you"

Piper ended the call.

She looked aimlessly across the large living room, over to the flat screen television and the plush leather sofa, suddenly very aware of how alone she was in the moment. Throwing her Blackberry with a dull thud of defeat at the sofa, the blonde shut the door with haste and slid down the surface and sat where she stood on the hardwood floor.

Tomorrow she would pack her suitcase again and land at Polly's apartment.

* * *

What Piper wasn't aware of, however, was the brunette half way across the world, frozen still. _Why didn't she get it? She should get it!_

Alex roughly combed her slim fingers through her dark hair.

Piper should've understood. She was out of her mind worried about getting shot and she was leaving her, giving her an ultimatum. Piper or the cartel. It wasn't like she could just leave. She was no where near close enough to the top for that. But she'd known Piper all of her life, she was almost family. And she had _so_ much shit to move. She needed more mules and some way to make up for the one who ran with the heroin.

The raven haired women knew full well she should definitely not be consuming the product she was paid to transport, nobody even knew she did. She liked to think she was good at hiding it, but she could see the questioning looks some of her closest work friends, as well as Piper, gave her. She rarely used more than once a week, twice max. Just something to numb her brain for a while. But it was only Thursday and she'd used once just yesterday and she could already feel her body trembling for more. For something to eradicate the stress again.

She didn't have the equipment at hand to inject, not that she did often anyway, due to the risks at border control. But Alex knew of other, less effective but still noteworthy ways, to chase the high.

Placing her mobile phone on the rickety hotel coffee table, she made her way towards the wardrobe where she was storing some of the _product_ in small zip seal baggies, regularly used for the mules who ran and the get them hooked.

Alex Vause never was good at handling difficult situations.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **I am very sorry for the wait and the sort of snippy chapter, but at least I started again XD. What I originally wrote for this chapter is now in the next due to the fact I felt it seemed a bit rushed. As for my absence, I could honestly write a list of excuses longer than this chapter as so much has happened, but to keep it short and out of my personal life, I find it hard to write about characters so much older than me. I'm thinking of making another teen vauseman fic though if you want to stay tuned for that too.**

 **Thanks to Libarybook who pointed out my mistakes. Turns out that I am still as incompetent as ever and I'd actually uploaded the snippy one before I'd done spelling corrections and read through and such, so I apologise to all those who have already read.**

 **Anyway, thanks for still reading after all this time and please feel free to leave a review to express hatred or whatever else! :) -E**


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